Day of Praise

Fri, 12/01/17, "Day of Praise"

I heard an awesome group of little ones preparing to share the Christmas story at our church's Child Development Center yesterday, which reminded me of the following devotional I wrote years ago. 

[Jesus said,] "Whoever belongs to God hears what God says." - John 8:47

I hear things.

Based on what I hear, many people hear many of the things that I hear. Especially at night, after my kids have gone to bed, I hear the train that's miles away, the ceiling fan that's whirring on another floor, the refrigerator that's doing whatever refrigerators do to stay cool, and, best of all, my kids adjusting in their beds and breathing. A lot of people hear those things. 

But I hear things that are probably a little strange to hear. Do you? At my church, I can walk in the education building and tell you if a bathroom light and fan is on. I can walk in the preschool building and tell you if a toilet is running on and wasting water because the bowl flap didn't close. I can walk in either worship space and tell you if the sound system wasn't turned off. I know it's a little quirky. But hey, we all, well, we all have our quirks. 

I hear things.

But, quite frankly, it doesn't bother me that I hear things or to tell you that I hear things. It doesn't bother me, as long as I hear the best thing. In today's verse, Jesus said, "Whoever belongs to God hears what God says." (John 8:47)

God wants all of us to hear what God says, but it can be a challenge since God often speaks in a whisper (1 Kings 19:12) and since the devil is often roaring like a lion (1 Peter 5:8) and since we hear things like refrigerators, trains, and ceiling fans, not to mention music, televisions, and screaming sports fans.

But we want to hear God because God's word works life and faith in us (1 Thessalonians 2:13) and brings us hope and good news (Colossians 1:23) and gives us God's Spirit and miracles (Galatians 3:5) and bears fruit and grace through us (Colossians 1:6) and warns us of the anti-christ (1 John 4:3).

So how, in a noisy world, can we hear God's word that we sorely need so we can have abundant life? Well, I bumped into an old friend today, and I asked if he could sit down for a few because he looked like he had the weight of the world on him. I asked how he was doing, and he calmly and quietly told me all the noises that were claiming his attention. I really had to listen because he spoke so softly. Then I asked how he was being fed. And a soft voice turned to silence. But his eyes and therefore his heart were crying out. We made a deal that included quiet time with God, putting time into having and being a spiritual friend, finding a spiritual mentor, and going to church for worship, fellowship, study, and service. 

Only tomorrow will tell if the beggar will show up for his bread. But he looked much stronger at the mere sound of it.

Because his ears were now tuned to the best thing...God's word. 

May your ears be tuned there, too. 

[Jesus said,] "Whoever belongs to God hears what God says." - John 8:47

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/30/17, "Day of Praise"

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand." - Daniel 3:17

I love the radio advertisement for foster parents that has the message that you don't need to be perfect parents in order to be great parents.

In the same way, you don't need to have a perfect day in order to have a great day.

Consider the three teenage boys in today's Bible verse. It was hardly a perfect day. The king was about to throw them into the blazing furnace. But in what could have been the origin of the oft-quoted saying, "Don't tell God how big your problems are, but instead tell your problems how big your God is," the boys tell their problem (the king) how big their God is. With utmost confidence, the boys say, "The God we serve is able to deliver us from [the blazing furnace]."

Something is going to go wrong with our day today. Our day will not be perfect. But "the God we serve is able to deliver us from" whatever problem stirs up the heat and turmoil in our day.

So if we'll all follow the lead of those boys long ago and tell our problems how big our God is, (he's the God who, in Jesus Christ, overcame death, sin, and the grave), then our day will be as great as our great big God!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/29/17, "Day of Praise"

"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." - 1 Corinthians 2:2

Life is funny. Just when you think something is a sure thing, then you come to see that maybe you shouldn't have been so sure. 

As a general example, sometimes things that look bad become reasons for someone to step up and do something. And sometimes things that look good become the ruin of the one who got the good thing. Life can be funny. Things aren't always as they seem. 

As a specific example, I remember one time I used a football and dirt example in this devotional. I thought for sure that I'd hear from the mass of guys who receive Day of Praise because guys stereotypically like dirt and football. But life's funny, and every single reply that initially came back about dirt and football was a beautifully-worded response from a woman. Only a little later did a few guys chime in. Life's funny. Things don't always turn out as you initially think. 

Even as I began today to write about life being funny, someone dear to me was just talking about life being funny: "I love seeing God's sense of humor in all the places: life, relationships, scripture, weather, and so on."

In the end, for all the things that we think we know, there is one absolute thing for certain and for sure. And that one thing is this: God loves us. Almighty, sovereign, everlasting God loves us. And we know this with utmost certainty through his Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Specifically, we see God's love for us completely poured out from his heart when Jesus is rejected, suffers, and dies on the cross. 

That's why St. Paul wrote: "For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). In essence, St. Paul was saying that life is funny because just when you think something is a sure thing, then you come to see that maybe you shouldn't have been so sure. Therefore, Paul was saying, "I'm going to stick to the one thing that truly is for sure: Jesus Christ and him crucified." For in Jesus and his cross, we have assurance of the one thing we need for sure, namely, that we're loved with the everlasting love. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tue, 11/28/17, "Day of Praise"

"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 4:6-7

Years ago, a friend introduced me to the American adventure writings of Louis L'Amour. My friend told me to note two things in each story. First, he said that L'Amour always has a good guy, a bad guy, and a girl. Second, he said that L'Amour always has the good guy sit with his back to the wall in saloons and taverns because the good guy doesn't want anyone sneaking up on him. 

It's the second concept of "back-to-the-wall" that's connected to today's Bible verse. Basically, God is telling us that he wants to "guard our hearts" both by giving us peace and also by keeping us from anxiety when we tell him in prayer what we see in front of us. 

The reason God wants us to tell him in prayer what we see in front of us is because God is covering everything that's behind us. God has our back! God's literally covering our rear, just as God tells us in Isaiah 52:12, "For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard."
No "haste" and no "flight" equals no anxiety because God is leading us forward and guarding our "rear."

So practically speaking, what does this all look like? 

First, trust God's promise that God has both your back and your past covered. Stop looking over your shoulder, and let go! 

Second, trust and obey God's command, "with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." In other words, thank God for dealing with your stuff even before you ask, and then tell God about everybody and everything that you can see in front of you. 

Finally, experience God's peace, and listen for God to speak to your heart. Doesn't it make sense? If God has your back, and if you've told God about everything in front, then everything is in God's hands! And if it's all in God's hands, then what is there to worry about?!?! Nothing. 

There's only peace, coupled with the voice of God speaking to your heart with words of life. 

Enjoy!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 11/27/17, "Day of Praise"

[Jesus said,] "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 11:29-30

It's like an Easter Egg that's staring you in the face in the annual Easter Egg Hunt because it's easily overlooked by so many. But it's clearly right there. Jesus says, "Learn from me" almost at the very start of today's verse.

Learning from Jesus and finding rest in Jesus clearly go hand in hand.

My friend, Tim, is a great example of this. He's done all sorts of projects for us, helping us to finish basements, rooms, and other projects. As Tim works, he not only takes on the yoke and does the heavy lifting, but he also imparts some lofty wisdom. Tim has tasted all sorts of twists and turns in life and always manages to come through with a positive and gracious outlook. So whenever you get to work alongside of him, whenever we're yoked together, he not only leads the way in the project, because he knows what he's doing, but he also imparts wisdom that's priceless for all of life.

This is the way it is with Jesus. To be yoked to Jesus not only takes the load off of us and gives us relief through a hard season that Jesus knows how to guide us through, but while Jesus is guiding us through the specific difficulty, he also imparts wisdom that's priceless for all of life.

Bottom line, whatever pops up today, or any day for that matter, call on the Lord, Jesus. Trust him, and listen for him. He will yoke himself to you, helping you to carry the load, and also speaking words of hope and wisdom that will bless you down the road!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/24/17, "Day of Praise"

"[Paul said,] 'So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.'" - Acts 27:25

There's a huge, huge, huge, huge and did I say huge high school football game here in our community tonight. The city of Hoover and the city of Alabaster (Thompson HS) high schools play in the semifinals of the state playoffs with the winner advancing on to the state finals.

It got me to thinking again as I have in the past on the matter of how many boys will actually play in the game compared to how many have put in years and years worth of work in order to be a part of the team.

Ninety-two is more than eleven, at least it was the last time I looked. It's even more than twenty-two. In football terms, that means that seventy players are standing on the sidelines for most of the game, specifically, seventy players on my son's high school football team.

I admire the coach. Coach Niblett, who is a marvelous Christian man, does an amazing job trying both to get many of the boys into the game and also to win the game. I truly admire the coach.

I even more admire the seventy boys who don't get much playing time, no matter how hard the coach tries.

Those seventy boys are good young men like the other twenty-two. I know them. Those seventy boys have also had grueling workouts last winter, spring, and all summer. Those seventy boys also have to study hard and make good grades to stay on the team.

But those seventy boys are not going to hear their name much on the public address system. It's called laboring in obscurity, working hard day after day to get a chance that might come.

And it might not.

But it builds character.

It requires heart.

It requires faith.

It requires faith that God has a purpose and a plan for your life that has to do with both being proud of yourself and also wanting God to be proud of you most of all.

This is the kind of heart that the vast majority of people in the world must have. People who, when it's all said and done, are not going to feel good about their work and its outcome unless each one can be proud of their own work and know that God is proud too. Actually, more than seventy out of ninety-two need such heart.

It's like ninety-two out of ninety-two.

And six billion out of six billion.

If you feel like you're laboring in obscurity, take heart.

You're not alone.

"[Paul said,] 'So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.'" - Acts 27:25

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/23/17, Thanksgiving Day "Day of Praise"

"Give thanks to the LORD for He is good! His love endures forever!" - Psalm 107:1

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/22/17, "Day of Praise"

[Jesus said,] "So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." - Luke 21:31

Seen one time when I went to the dentist:
Miss R,
I am sorry that I was ugly. You are a good teeth cleaner Lady. 
Love,
jb

What did Jesus mean when he said, "when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near" (Luke 21:31)? What things will we see? In context, Jesus is clearly saying we'll see new life springing forth from stuff that previously looked dead. 

So let's start with what looks dead. Let's start with "jb" and the letter above. When jb was being (to use his mom's, er, I mean, jb's term) "ugly," do you think he thought he was being ugly? My heavens, no! Nobody thinks they're being ugly until after they're done being ugly. And even then, they may not think they were being ugly. 

I mean, seriously, I've got a long, long, long list of people who have been ugly to me in my life, and they still don't think they were being ugly. There are so many people who've been ugly to me that they could all start apologizing right now and the line still wouldn't be done when Jesus comes again. 

I know you know what I mean. Aren't there a whole bunch of people who owe you an apology for being ugly? 

And that's exactly what dead looks like. 

What dead looks like is a world full of people who are walking around each day, waiting for the long line of people to form who owe them an apology. And I know some people who are going to be waiting a really long time like a person who recently replied to my apology by telling me that I didn't apologize the right way. There's a lot of "jb"s out there who don't think they've been ugly. It's just everybody else. 

But Jesus says that we should stay hopeful, that one day what's dead will spring forth with new life. Jesus says that leaves will start popping out of fig trees. He might as well have said that apology notes will start coming from jb. 

Ya see, what beautiful looks like is a world full of people who are walking around each day, not waiting for the long line of people to form who owe them an apology, but instead are starting to address the first person in the long line of people that, (I'll own it), I owe an apology to. And who cares if they apologize back to me. If the only reason I apologize to them is to get them to apologize to me, then I should keep my stinking apology that really is no apology at all. 

Hey, y'all, I'm not feeling really bad about something and using all of you to have some dump-my-emotions, healing session. All I know is that I went to the dentist one morning, and I saw the note from jb: "Miss R, I am sorry that I was ugly. You are a good teeth cleaner Lady. Love, jb." And it made me smile. And it felt good. 

And I thought, "I need to start writing some notes to some people about me being ugly and them being a good teeth cleaner Lady or whatever they're good at because I bet I'm in a bunch of people's lines who are waiting for an apology from me." 

This upcoming Sunday, Christ the King Sunday, and this imminent time of year that our church tradition calls Advent isn't just about our waiting for Jesus and Christmas. It's also about God waiting for us to get ready for him to come; as John the Baptist said long ago, "Repent and believe; the Kingdom of God is near!"

So, it's your choice whether or not to join in, but I'm declaring today "National Do-like-JB and Apologize-to-Somebody Day." I myself know a long line to whom I should apologize. In fact, God put it on my heart a few weeks ago to start writing some letters, lots of letters. And if enough people participate, we should be seeing lots of leaves and life springing forth (even in late November and early December!), ya know, seeing lots of smiles, probably seeing lots of tears, and, God's word promises, seeing the kingdom of God a lot more clearly than the day before. 

[Jesus said,] "So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near." - Luke 21:31

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 11/21/17, "Day of Praise"

"No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except in the Holy Spirit." - 1 Corinthians 12:3

One of my favorite movies is the Disney flick, "Holes." And in the movie, "Holes," one of my favorite lines is from Sam the Onion Man when, multiple times, he says to Kissin' Kate, "I can fix that." 

Whether it's your auto mechanic or roofer or Geek Squad guy, "I can fix that" is a great thing to hear. But there's, of course, no greater fixer than The Great Fixer himself. Though many of you have recently shared some painful, broken realities in the relationships and finances in your lives, take heart. All sorts of things can get fixed and are possible in Christ by the power of God's Holy Spirit. After all, in Mark 9:23, Jesus said, "All things are possible for one who believes."

Here are some examples: Jesus can make us clean, washing away skin diseases (Luke 5:12), as we witnessed at our church with a woman who came to our monthly healing service. 

Jesus can heal despair, cure loneliness, and untangle confusion, doing things that remind us that God is with us. (John 3:2)

Jesus alone can take an old, tired, broken-down life, (which sadly can often belong to a very young person), and deliver us, like new-born babies, into a new life in the kingdom of God. (John 3:3)

Jesus alone can make it possible for us to be in accord (which is to be in one mind in truth, peace, and harmony) with God the Father. (John 5:19)

Jesus alone can make it possible for us to seek and hear the life-giving will of God the Father. (John 5:30)

By actually being our strength to endure and our courage to press on, in spite of overwhelming physical or financial or mental or emotional obstacles, Jesus alone makes it possible for us to follow a path to new life. (John 13:36)

Jesus alone can lay a sure foundation for our lives so that our lives don't fall apart at the first sign of trouble. (1 Corinthians 3:11)

Jesus alone can pour out the Holy Spirit so we can have insight into complications and mysteries that are otherwise overwhelming and incomprehensible. (Ephesians 3:4)

What's messed up in your life? What needs fixing?

Believe! Jesus, even better than Sam the Onion Man, can fix that!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 11/20/17, "Day of Praise"

"And [Jesus] told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart." - Luke 18:1

Even as football season is coming around the home stretch, basketball is getting cranked up. One of the most colorful basketball people in my lifetime was Coach Jim Valvano. Coach V, as he was fondly called, died of cancer. However, before he died, one of Valvano's most memorable motivational speeches was delivered February 21, 1993 at Reynolds Coliseum on the basketball court of North Carolina State University during the ten year commemoration of the University's miraculous, 1983 NCAA men's basketball championship. It was during this speech, celebrating the team he coached, that Valvano stressed the importance of hope, love, and persistence, which included his famous quotation "Don't give up, don't ever give up."

Jimmy V's oft-seen-and-quoted speech is universally celebrated as one of the greatest-ever encouragements, even challenges, that people ought to never, never, never give up.

His speech was less about his overachieving, underdog, championship basketball team and more about battling overwhelming illness, as was his cancer. And his speech was a call to live life with joy and hope, even when circumstances are insurmountably difficult. 

But let's be honest.

There is only one way to have the spirit and strength that Valvano referred to, and that's through faith in Jesus Christ. When Jesus told the disciples "a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart" (Luke 18:1), Jesus was calling them not to dig deeper into the extremely shallow and helpless human soul. Instead, Jesus was calling the disciples to believe in the infinitely deep love and grace of God, which is perfectly revealed in the cross and resurrection of Jesus.

Friends, what is overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable in your life? To be sure, like Coach V said, "Don't give up; don't ever give up." But you will find the strength and spirit to do that, not by looking in yourself, but by looking to God and God's Son, Jesus Christ, who will give you God's own strength to hope and endure because God himself will not give up. God will never give up on you!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 11/18/17, "Day of Praise"

"Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance." - Hebrews 12:1

Hooray! It's Saturday! And from the time I was a teen, I dream of Saturday as Donut Day. I dream of getting a dozen Krispy Kreme chocolate-covered, creme-filled donuts and eating all twelve of them all by myself. I've actually done it twice in my fifty-three years. 

But I've gotten to the age where I realize that when I eat just one donut, not twelve, just one, that I might as well get some duct tape and tape that donut right to my body on one side of my love handles because that's where it's going to wind up. And ya know, that isn't very helpful at all. I wanna live life with a bounce in my step, and here I've got these donuts taped to my side. 

God gives me a simple solution. God says, "Well, just don't eat the donut, Chris." God says, "Let's lay aside every weight, and donut which clings so closely." Okay, well, that's a slight adjustment on what God says. 

But that donut is a parable. It weighs me down. Just like sin. Neither the donut, physically, nor the sin, spiritually, help me to run with endurance. When you run and you start getting tired, do they still call it "sucking wind"? Spiritually, "wind" is "the Holy Spirit." In Hebrew (the word "ruah") and in Greek (the word "pneuma"), both words mean "breath, wind, spirit." 

So, if I want to run the race of life that is set before me with endurance, then I should probably stay away from the donut. And sin too. Don't ya think? 

God's word actually tells me not just to stay away from sin, but to "flee" from it (1 Corinthians 6:18). It's like God wants us to get in shape for the race by sprinting away from things that will keep us from getting in shape. 

So as one dear young man in a group home that I visited said, "Bye, bye, sin." And bye, bye, donuts. 

Ah, I feel better already. In fact, good enough, to go for a run!

"Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance." - Hebrews 12:1

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/17/17, "Day of Praise"

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" - John 14:6

Ya know those puzzles where you have two different words? The puzzle challenge is to find the way for the two different words to become the same word. The way to do it is by changing one letter at a time in one of the words to make it a new word. Ooooooh, let me just show you the way. 

Here's the puzzle. What's the way for the word "rear" to become the word "Lord"? Here's the way. You start with "rear". Then change "rear" to "read". Then change "read" to "lead". Then change "lead" to "load". Then change "load" to "lord." Those are the steps along the way for making "rear" to become "Lord."

Jesus also shows us that knowing the way and steps along the way is important. He actually tells us in today's Bible verse that he himself is the Way. He also spends time with his followers, who are called his disciples, so that he can teach them the steps for leaving behind being a new disciple and becoming a mature disciple.

For example, I can look at my own life and see that I once thought that being a Christian was "knowing the Bible and being nice." 

Then, God, through the Bible, showed me that being a Christian certainly includes knowing God's word, like the Bible, but it's more important to know the God of the Bible. And Jesus says that the Way to know the God of the Bible is by getting to know Jesus. So "knowing the Bible and being nice" became "knowing Jesus and being nice." 

Then Jesus showed me that being a Christian certainly includes being nice. However, Jesus showed me it's more important to help other people take steps toward knowing Jesus. And many times helping people know Jesus feels, to them, like we're not being nice because coming to know Jesus always changes our lives and sometimes those changes hurt. The way to knowing Jesus doesn't always feel nice because it includes a cross and various forms of suffering and rejection. So "knowing Jesus and being nice" became "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus."

And now, Jesus has shown me that "helping others to know Jesus" is fabulous, but there's even more joy waiting for those who would know the Lord if we not only help them to know Jesus but also help them to help others to know Jesus. After all, in Luke 15, Jesus tells three straight parables where each parable's ending celebrates the rejoicing in heaven and with the angels and with Father God when someone comes nearer the God of heaven than they were before. So "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus" became "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus so that they could then have the heavenly joy of helping others to know Jesus."

So just like "rear" became "Lord" by changing one letter at a time, God shows us that he'd change us one "letter" at a time so he can shape us into being a follower of the Way, who is Jesus. "Knowing the Bible and being nice" becomes "knowing Jesus and being nice" which becomes "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus" which becomes "knowing Jesus and helping others to know Jesus so that they could then have the heavenly joy of helping others to know Jesus."

And we thank God for every step along the way. 

I encourage you to think about and thank God for how he's blessing you by shaping and changing you one step, one "letter," at a time so that you can both know God and His Son, Jesus, and also know how to help others know him too!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/16/17, "Day of Praise"

"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned." - 1 Corinthians 2:14

We laughed!

And laughed!

And laughed!

One person said, "Is it true that if a jellyfish bites you that you should put tea on it?"

The other person said, "Why would you put tea on the jellyfish?"

The first person said, "On the bite, Silly! On the bite!"

We laughed and laughed and laughed. 

Let's face it. Sometimes we get our wires crossed. And understanding comes not so easily. And you just have to laugh. 

But there is something that's not so good to laugh at. And that would be "the things of the Spirit of God." In today's Bible verse, God says "the natural person" sees the things of God's Spirit as "folly," which is Biblical wording for "foolishness" and "something to be laughed at or mocked." 

God neither wants us laughing in an unbelieving mockery, nor does God want us laughing in a "believing" resignation. A "believing resignation" is when someone says, "Aaaah, I'm not that smart. I just can't understand." 

God wants us all to understand "the things of the Spirit of God." God plainly tells us this in today's Bible verse as God says the issue of understanding the things of God's Spirit is not about the size of your I.Q. or your score on a standard college test like the ACT. 

The key factor in understanding the things of God's Spirit is whether you're a "natural person" or a "spiritual person." And let's get clear on "spiritual person" real quick because we have a country full of people who say they're "spiritual people" who don't worship God and don't read their Bible and don't tell anyone about Jesus and don't have the first twinge of longing for people who don't know Jesus and who, therefore, are in a heap of trouble when Jesus comes again. 

A truly spiritual person cares about other people who don't know Jesus, and a truly spiritual person cares about others who are spiritually dead. The truly spiritual person cares because God cares about people who don't know Jesus and who are spiritually dead, which is why God sent His Son, Jesus, and poured out His Holy Spirit! 

I'd dare say that the books of the Bible are the books of the Bible because all sixty-six of them record God saying what Jesus says to Nicodemus in John, chapter three, which is that we all must be born again to understand the things of God's spirit. What's born of flesh is flesh. What's born of the spirit is spirit. 

The flesh and the natural person says, "I'm so smart that I'm a spiritual person without ever spending time either with God's spiritual things or the Spirit of God."

The person born of the spirit, the truly spiritual person is smart enough to recognize and confess, "I don't stand a chance of understanding anything that matters forever if I never spend time with the God of forever. Teach me, Lord, teach me." 

And God teaches us through His Word through which God gives us His Spirit (Ephesians 6) through which we are able to understand and "spiritually discern" (1 Corinthians 2:14). 

Dear God, please help us so that today and everyday we might be born anew by your Spirit! Make us hungry for your word both to know you more personally and also so we can feed others who are hungry for your Spirit, too! Amen!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/15/17, "Day of Praise"

With many of our students having exams now and in the near future, I was reminded of this devotion from the archives. 

"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 8:26. 

So, I'm helping my 14 year old son, Caden, study for a big World History test. In this particular study session, I'm asking him questions from a quiz that his teacher gave to help the class get ready for the big test. The quiz was pages and pages of stuff that Caden had written out. My job was to take each of Caden's written quiz answers and turn them into spoken questions for Caden to answer aloud. 

About halfway through our study session, I got this thought to be silly.

So, with a huge smile, I said to Caden, "True!" And, of course, I thought he'd say, "Ah Dad, c'mon. Give me the rest of the question." 

Instead, without missing a beat. Caden said, "True, Cromwell was open to the idea of religious toleration."

I about fell on the floor from amazement, not to mention gladness, because Caden really needs to do well on this test. And I said, "How did you know that from all these pages of stuff?" And he said, "I told you, Dad; I've been studying!"

Which is a great parable to today's Bible verse. Just like I barely gave Caden anything to work with when I said, "True," sometimes we barely give God anything to work with when we pray because "we do not know what to pray for." (Romans 8:26). 

But even though I barely gave Caden anything to work with, he knew the answer because he'd taken time to study and know the material. So too, even though we barely give God anything to work with sometimes in our prayers, God knows the answer because he's taken time to study and know us. 

So be encouraged, y'all!!! Yes, it's good to have nice, eloquent, smooth-flowing prayers. But when things come up that baffle you, as they do everyday, and a nice, eloquent, smooth-flowing prayer is nowhere to be found in your heart, then just groan or grunt or squeal out whatever you can to God. 

God already knows the rest. 

And he's on it.

Because He loves you.

We know this in Jesus Christ.

So go into today, and know that your grunting, groaning, squealing, sighing, mumbling, bumbling prayers are heard. And they're blessed!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 11/14/17, "Day of Praise"

"[Jesus] put another parable before them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also.'" - Matthew 13:24-26

I was driving down a local road when I saw some litter fly out the window of a truck that was just a short bit ahead of me. Being a litter-picker-upper, I moaned in my heart and shook my head. 

As I caught up to the slow-moving, litter-dropping truck, I started to laugh as it became clear that not only did the truck say "City of Hoover" on the side, but it also said "LITTER CONTROL" in huge letters on a sign on the back of the truck.

Can you imagine? A Litter Control truck where the employees are throwing litter out the window?

Yes, I can imagine. I can imagine something and somebody that are supposed to be addressing a problem, and they're actually contributing to the problem. 

I do it all the time. 

As a Christian, I'm supposed to be addressing the sin problem in the world. Sin is like spiritual litter, if you will. But even as I'm supposed to be on the job and addressing the spiritual litter problem, the spiritual litter of sin comes flying out of the window of my life. 

Why do I do this? I do it because I'm a sinner. And as I hard as I try, I myself can never stop sinning. (In the language of today's Bible verse, we all have wheat and weeds mixed together in the field that is each of our lives.) I'm sure God moans in his heart and shakes his head. But, as hard as I try, I can never stop throwing spiritual litter out of my life. 

But Jesus can. 

I need Jesus to come to me everyday and hop in the "truck" that is my life so he can live in me by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus alone, working in me, can put a stop to the spiritual litter problem in my life, as he and he alone is the solution, being my righteousness, making me new from the inside out, cleaning up the litter of my soul so that it can't fly out the window of my life. 

So the next time, I see litter fly out of a LITTER CONTROL truck, before I'm so quick to shake my head and moan, I pray that I'll remember that that's what my life looks like to God. 

May God have mercy. 

And, through Jesus Christ, God already has!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Monday of Veterans Day Weekend, 11/13/17, "Day of Praise"

"The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." - Exodus 14:14 

So one time, after a full day of Sunday School, worship, ministry committees, community ministry, and a school project, my son tells me he's going to do a workout. He's moving his feet very fast and doing his drills. He's working hard, moving his arms as he runs through his drills, over and over and over. While my son is ending his day at ten p.m. with a workout, I'm eating ice cream, specifically Target brand Birthday Cake ice cream. So my son's working hard, and I'm eating dessert. 

It's a lot like God's call through Moses in today's Bible verse. God will fight; we get to be still. Thank you, God! 

It's a lot like the truth that's celebrated on Veterans Day. Our Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy are poised and ready to fight; we get to rest secure that they will. Our Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, and Navy do what's necessary, in every generation, to serve our country and keep it safe; we get to be still. 

And eat ice cream. 

Even Target brand Birthday Cake ice cream if you want. 

Even if you already did two days ago, please, thank a Veteran today! 

Hey, thank a bunch of Veterans! 

I had a great time talking to, texting with, and emailing many Veterans with thanks over the weekend. They really appreciate it. I'm sure we should appreciate them more. 

Pray for our Veterans today! 

We were driving home from visiting family who live out of town this past Saturday, so we missed our Veterans Day parade here in Birmingham, which is the longest running in the nation. But, hey, we don't need a Veterans Day parade today or tomorrow or any day to cheer for the Veterans in every generation. Cheer on and cheer up some Veterans today! And everyday!

After all, because our Veterans were willing to enter a conflict, then we are able to have peace and many other freedoms that they secure for us, which we enjoy. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 11/11/17, "Day of Praise" 

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21 

Please be careful. As a pastor, I've experienced dear friends who have tragically used today's verse to create an eagerness for physical death. Though I won't deny that there's some element of that, God's chief encouragement in the verse is for us to know the "gain" and the joy of "dying to self." 

To die to self is to pray to God, "Thy will be done." To die to self is to set aside our will and wants and desires, saying, "God, your will and wants and desires for me are far greater than anything I could even desire, let alone deserve." 

To die to self is gain! 

Oh, yes, if you search the 100 or so Bible verses with the word "gain," then you can see that there are some things to be gained for doing the old Burger King jingle thing where you "have it your way." But God's Word says that the gains of having it our way are always very temporary at best and negative, destructive, and ruinous at worst. 

To the contrary, God's Word says the gains from dying to self are always positive and lasting, including gaining instruction, knowledge, insight, wisdom, a friend, godliness with contentment, your own life, a good standing for yourself, great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus. and, best of all, you gain Jesus Christ himself. 

And when you gain Jesus Christ, then, well, you can really start living! 

"For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." - Philippians 1:21 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/10/17, "Day of Praise"

"[Moses said, 'God's word] is no empty word for you, but your very life'" - Deuteronomy 32:47

I promise. This is a clean bathroom story. Well, almost.

A friend of mine and I were making our way to the men's room sink at the same time. He was talking. I was listening. And watching. 

He turns on the water and then starts pumping the built-into-the-bathroom-counter soap container. I smiled and told him the soap was in the store-bought container next to the built-in container. But my friend was so excited to talk about God's work in our church and the Prayer Meeting we were about to go into that he never heard me and he never even looked to see that there was no soap on his hands, even though he was scrubbing away and then thoroughly rinsing as if he'd gotten a handful of the liquid cleaner. 

I told you that this was a clean bathroom story. Almost. 

The problem, of course, was really not my friend's attentiveness. My goodness, shouldn't somebody be allowed to be excited about the Living God without having to worry that a soap container is not really containing soap?

As if the soap container cares, I blame the soap container. I mean that container and connected pump had the audacity to present itself as being full of a life-promoting cleanser. 

But it was empty. 

God aches, at least, when anyone or anything presents himself, herself, or itself as being full of a life-promoting something when, in truth, he, she, or it is empty. 

Good thing, though, that there's one thing in this world that we never have to be suspicious about. There's one thing in this world that, when it says it's full of a life-promoting something, then it's full of a life-promoting something and more. 

As God, through Moses, said in today's Bible verse, "[God's word] is no empty word for you, but your very life." (Deuteronomy 32:47)

Furthermore, God's word itself is not only not empty, but when God sends his word, it does not come back empty either. God's word fully accomplishes what God says it will. So when God makes you a promise, you can take it to the bank and deposit it in full! Read it for yourself in Isaiah 55:11, "So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it."

And what God's word accomplishes is that it insures that we ourselves will not be empty (2 Corinthians 9:3), but instead that we'll be filled with God's life and love to overflowing (Luke 6:38). 

And, being God's promise, that's no empty promise.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/09/17, "Day of Praise"

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." - Psalm 118:24

Ehhhhhh, I know swapping's not allowed, but it's fun to think about anyway. I was only two years and forty-nine weeks old, but I totally remember looking in the newborn area and asking my dad which one we were going to pick. After all, when my little sister was born, it made sense to me that when you put one in, then you should get to pick one out.

Ya know. A swap.

Kinda like a workday. Wouldn't it be awesome if you could trade it in? Ya know, snap your fingers, and a workday gets swapped for a weekend day. Well, at least for a Friday.

But, of course, that's not how it works.

Unless, of course, you're talking about swapping our perspective for God's perspective. Our perspective on a workday often is "Ugh!" God's perspective on a workday is "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" (Psalm 118:24)

And that's a swap that God's willing to make with us every time.

Oh, and by the way, my little sister, Cheryl, who was born when I was two years and forty-nine weeks old, was, is, and always will be the best. I wouldn't swap her for anything!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 11/08/17, "Day of Praise"

Today, we get to go visit daughter, Cassidy, and her ministry to women who've been badly hurt. It reminded me of this devotional from my archives.

"And thus you shall greet him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.'" - 1 Samuel 25:6

So, there's this security guard at the front campus gate of my younger daughter's college. She's very peppy. Lots of energy. High spirits. Lively.

But not so good of a memory.

Last weekend when I pulled onto campus, she said, "Money and food. That's what they want you to give 'em because they don't want to use their money for food."

This weekend when I pulled onto campus, she said, "Money and food. That's what they want you to give 'em because they don't want to use their money for food."

At first, I had to laugh. I'm thinking, "What? Does she think I didn't hear her the first time?"

And then God zapped me. "Hey, Chris, Jesus greets the disciples twice with peace in about two minutes in John 20. So, are you saying Jesus thinks they didn't hear him the first time? Well, you might be right, which is also why the guy says the same basic thing three times in today's Bible verse."

Ya see, gang, God is determined that we hear and receive the blessings of His word, so God says a lot of things multiple times. God knows that maybe we didn't hear him the first time because we were "heavy with sleep" like Peter in Luke 9:32. But whatever the reason, God wants us to have the love and wisdom and power of his life-changing word. So, sometimes God says it twice.

Or more!

So, how 'bout we do the same, starting today? Let's tell people, "God loves you!" And if they're grouchy or sleepy and seem not to hear it, then it's no biggie! We'll just tell 'em again, like God does for us, to make sure that all of us hear of God's blessings!

"And thus you shall greet him: 'Peace be to you, and peace be to your house, and peace be to all that you have.'" - 1 Samuel 25:6

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 11/07/17, "Day of Praise"

"[Jesus said,] Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." - Luke 12:2

Some of you have heard this story before, but God nudged my heart to share it again.

I was bad. And I'm not proud of it, but if revealing it will encourage someone else, then I'll go ahead and talk about it.

And besides, God already knows. 

My brother and I were roommates in college, and we'd gotten a pumpkin for Halloween decor. Once we got past Halloween, we needed to find something to do with the pumpkin. For some stupid reason, I decided the garbage can was a lesser option for the pumpkin when we could put it in the back of our friends' closet across the hall. It's important to note that the new, pumpkin-home closet was ridiculously high and only accessible if you stood on a chair, and even then the back of the closet was still terribly hard to reach. That's why I thought it would be funny to put the pumpkin in their upper closet. I thought it would start to rot and to stink, and then they'd look for the smell, and then they'd find it and be done. 

Unfortunately, I didn't count on two things: 1) my totally forgetting about the pumpkin to the point that it was in their upper closet so long that 2) the pumpkin didn't just rot and stink, but the pumpkin also turned into pumpkin soup. It was a mess!

My victim friends, Mark and Rodney, were understandably upset. And conveniently, they blamed everybody except me because my brother and the other "Zombies" (our floor nickname) were always pulling pranks, but I never did anything like that. Never. 

So one day, I get this phone call from Mark; it was about twenty-five years later. We hadn't talked since college. He asked how I was doing. And then he asked why I did it; he asked why I put the pumpkin in his closet. So, I asked him how he found out that it was me. And he responded by saying that the way he found out it was me was that I had just, in that moment, admitted it!

Like Jesus says in today's Bible verse, the truth always comes out, no matter how hard we try to hide it. 

That's why, way back near the beginning of creation, when the first people (Adam and Eve) tried to hide from God and cover their sin, it was futile. Not only did they try to hide it, but they fooled themselves into thinking that God didn't already know. But the truth came out, and Adam and Eve realized that God knew all along. 

And the hidden truth, which is hidden from those who deceive themselves into thinking that they can hide the truth about their sin from God, is that God wants to reveal our sin to us so that God can deal with it by teaching us a lesson in the positive sense and by graciously forgiving our sin. 

That's what Mark did for me that day that he called about the pumpkin, twenty-five years after the fact. He reminded me that the truth always comes out, and then he laughed and forgave my sin, bringing the matter to a close. 

Well, almost to a close. Because a stinking, rotting, college-pumpkin prank will forever be a reminder of the truth that Jesus said. "Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known." (Luke 12:2)

So let's just go ahead and bare it all to God and whoever else needs to know so that lesson-learning, forgiveness, and healing can begin. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 11/06/17, "Day of Praise"

"And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." - Luke 15:20

Let's all act like a dog today. 

As usual, let me explain.

To begin with, many of you who know me are probably being revived from fainting because you know I'm not a fan of dogs. For those who don't know me, I'm not a fan of dogs because I can't escape the fact that, when I was a kid, I was all too often chased by "Freckles" who was the big, at-least-looked-like-a-Doberman, chase-after-anything-that-moved dog who protected his domain up the street, down the street, and any other place that he wanted to claim as his own. 

But that being said, dogs are, to most people, their owner's best friend. What you people, who had no "Freckles" in your life, tell me is that your dog loves you unconditionally. And what you tell me is that your dog shows you that unconditional love by always being a "DoG", that is, DOwnright-Glad to see you. Ya know, you've been away all day, and you pull in the driveway, and your puppy dog can barely contain herself as she wags her tail and makes that "heh-heh-heh" sound and runs in place so she doesn't cross the line and get zapped by your high voltage, underground fence that lets the bully dog in but won't let your sweet little doggie out. Ya know, your d-o-g is just DoG, DOwnright Glad to see ya!

It dawned on me at a hospital once that this is why almost everybody, who otherwise wasn't smiling, will immediately start smiling back at me after I smile and nod at them. It's because I look like a DoG. I look like somebody who is truly DOwnright Glad to see 'em. My goodness, I don't know 99.9% of 'em from the man in the moon, except Miss Ann who's tried to get me to give blood for now 26 years even though I keep telling her that I give every eight weeks at my church. But it doesn't matter if I know 'em or not. Most people seem so glad that I'm not "Freckles" who's lookin' to take a bite out of their, uh, well, out of their sweet little self. And then they're just downright shocked for a moment that I am what I am, namely, DOwnright Glad to see 'em. And then it hits 'em, "That guy is just like my dog, Spot or Fifi or Champ or Bowser; that guy looks like he's DOwnright Glad to see me." One guy even told me he had a dog named "Father" who had red hair, just like me.

But ya' see, gang, that's what the Father did in today's Bible verse. While his wayward, now-come-home son was still a long way off, the Father ran like a DoG to meet that wayward, now-come-home son. And the Father "embraced him and kissed him"; I'm guessing it was some big, sloppy, wet kiss on the cheek. Just like a DoG. 

Who was DOwnright Glad to see the boy. 

So he greeted him with unconditional love. 

And inspires us to do the same. 

Share a smile. Spread the love.

Let's all go act like a DoG today. 

"And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him." - Luke 15:20

Praise God!

Pastor Chris 
"The gospel is the story of Jesus [what God's only Son has done for us that we can't do for ourselves], spoken as a promise." - Robert Jenson

Day of Praise

Sat, 11/04/17, "Day of Praise"

"Then he said to me, 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off."'" - Ezekiel 37:11

Have you lost anything lately? 

Maybe your keys? Maybe your faith? Maybe your hope?

Let's start with the keys.

A friend of mine at church once asked if I'd seen their keys. I apologized that I hadn't. They walked away, still puzzled, and I went into the library to lead a Bible study.

After class, I was walking out to our cars with a student when she took some keys out of her pocket, looked at them in a puzzled way, stopped in her tracks, and said, "Whose keys are these?" I chuckled and said I thought they're the keys of our friend who had lost his. She laughed and went back to return his keys. The keys had never been lost to begin with. A friend was just holding them for a while. 

The whole "lost keys" incident reminded me of today's Bible verse and times when our lives seem "dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off" (Ezekiel 37:11). In the Bible verse, God is actually carrying the "lost" hope and breath of life for a whole nation until it's ready to receive it back. In my own life, I was so blessed when my children and other dear Christian friends carried my "lost" hope in the worst season of my life until I was able to see beyond. 

What about you? I know that some of you are feeling down, wondering what's in your future and wondering if you even have a future. I know that hope is waning for some of you. Life feels dry. And you feel cut off and detached from other people. It feels like the best parts of life have been lost. 

But hang in there. God gave us to each other so we can hold onto and safekeep your "keys," ya know, your hope, your faith, and the strength to look for something good to come your way. All isn't lost. It's just been misplaced for a while. Just long enough to see that, like my kids were for me, the best things in life are always our God and our friends who stick with us until we ourselves can see the brighter view that God has prepared for us. 

So today, let's be on the lookout for each other because somebody has lost their "keys" to life, and we are so blessed to help each other find them. 

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 11/03/17, "Day of Praise"

"And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" - John 20:22

Yaaay! It's Friday! I'm cheering because I have a secret formula in order for you to have a great Friday.

Are you ready? Are you sure? I mean this is heavy stuff. It's pretty complicated. Drum rooooooooooll!

Okay, the secret formula in order for you to have a great Friday iiiiiiis...

Breathe!

Yes, breathe; breathe in, and breathe out!

In the spirit of simplicity, in today's Bible verse, Jesus came into a situation that was not what he liked. It was not ideal, so he breathed life into it.

In our case, when we come to a situation today that we don't like, then we start by breathing in, which is, as Jesus puts it, receiving the Holy Spirit that God is breathing onto the situation. Then after we take a deep breath, believing that God and God's Holy Spirit alone can truly change anything for good, we then breathe out, which is simply to speak life into a situation. Just as the Bible book of Proverbs contains verse after verse testifying to the death that we negatively breathe into situations when we lie and deceive and have a sour attitude, so too does God's word testify to the life that we positively breathe into situations when we encourage and speak honestly and have a cheerful attitude.

In sum, because God has already poured out his spirit and continues to do so, the quality of your Friday is in your hands, er, I mean, breath.

God has breathed out life so that we can breathe in life from God, and then we can breathe out life to others through the day.

Happy Friday!

"And when [Jesus] had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'" - John 20:22

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 11/02/17, "Day of Praise"

"You in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish." - Luke 16:25

I have this penchant.

No, I don't mean a pendant. I mean a penchant. A pendant is something suspended from something else, ya know, like an ornament or a piece of jewelry. A penchant is a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something. 

I have this penchant. Specifically, I have a penchant, a tendency to be helpfully unhelpful. Ya know, I've got this ability to show up in a kitchen right after everything has been set on the table, and ask if I can be helpful when help is no longer needed. Or I show up at the sink right after the last dish has been scraped, rinsed, and placed in the dishwasher and ask if there's a way I can help. Ya know, perfect timing. It's a penchant, a tendency to being helpfully unhelpful. 

I feel bad about this penchant of mine. I really do, but not too much, because I've seen and heard that others have the exact same penchant. 

Like one time, for example, I stopped by a retired friend who had visited a European cathedral with thirty or so steps up to the front door. And at the top of the steps was a sign for the handicapped that pointed them to an assistance desk once they got to the top of the stairs. I think that qualifies. Helpfully unhelpful. 

Additionally, another time, I was asked to share a prayer at a local Senior Center Octoberfest. (In German, it's spelled Oktoberfest; so said a Grouchy German known as SauerKraut.) When I stepped in the Men's Room to wash up before lunch, I spotted a button high on the wall between two stations. The sign with it said, "FOR ASSISTANCE, PUSH BUTTON." So, uh, somebody help me out here. How exactly is that button supposed to help? What? Somebody falls down and then screams at the button high on the wall? I think that qualifies. Helpfully unhelpful.

See I'm not alone in my penchant. 

It's a good thing God has a different penchant. God has shown us through Jesus that God has a penchant, a strong or habitual liking or tendency to do something, namely, to actually be helpful!

In fact, in today's verse, that's what "Lazarus" means. The name "Lazarus" means "God helps me." Lazarus had a hard earthly life: laid up, stepped on, stepped over, sore-riddled, poverty-riddled. But Lazarus trusted God's penchant to actually be helpful. And through faith, Lazarus received much help from God: to endure, to persevere, to keep the faith, to inspire, to have courage, to speak wisdom, to find comfort. 

What's your penchant? Many of you have told me your penchant, your tendency is to attract things like stress-producing people, life-complicating problems, and when-will-these-end annoyances. But, hey, don't ask me what to do about your penchant. Remember, I have a penchant to be helpfully unhelpful. 

Instead, take a hint from Lazarus, who had a penchant for faith in God. And Lazarus had faith in God because God has a penchant to actually be helpful!

Praise God!