Day of Praise

Thur, 03/01/18, "Day of Praise"

1 Samuel 16:7 - "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'"

You're going too slow!

That's what I thought about the big car in front of me that was poking along about thirty miles per hour in a 45 miles per hour zone. But starting to pass him, I then saw clearly that there was a slow and very small car in front of him. There were no hazard lights flashing on either car, but I just got the feeling that the big, slow, nice car was looking after the little, slower, not-as-nice car.

Has anyone ever told you that you were going too slow? Like me with the car in front of me, whoever's fussing at you is often not seeing the whole picture. Maybe you eat slow because you savor the flavor of every precious bite. Maybe you're grieving a loved one slower than others are comfortable with because you just are, and grief has no timeline. Maybe you talk slow so people can actually understand what you're saying. Maybe you teens have told a boyfriend or girlfriend to slow down because there are more important things in life like an education and a marriage ceremony before two people bare their souls and more to each other. Maybe your education or your career is unfolding more slowly than you had planned. Maybe you walk slow because you're deep-thinking like a man in my life.

But if you're feeling worn down by people telling you to speed up, be encouraged because today's Bible verse reminds us that God sees through what's on the outside and understands what's going on with your inside. Yes, God sees what's going on in your heart. In your thinking. With your worries. With your plans. With your pace. With your trust that steady and sure is better than fast and furious. Unlike me with that car in front of me, God can see past what's immediately in front of him. God sees into your heart and guides you on a path and at a pace that the Lord deems right for you.

Hang in there! You're doing just fine!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 02/28/18, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 119:165 - "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble."

I love Twister!

Ya, know, Twister! That game from the '70's with the big spinner and the red-yellow-blue-green dotted mat, where everybody had to get a hand or foot on a colored dot and everybody would get all tangled up. The key to staying in the game was leaning on each other, but not knocking each other down.

Sometimes we play Twister in our worship. Kind of. At the Lord's Prayer, everybody is asked to grab hands so we can be family as we pray to "Our Father". It can be like Twister as you reach for one hand that's behind you and then another that's just a stretch-over-two-chairs-or-pews in front of you. The key to praying as God's connected family is leaning on each other, but not knocking each other down.

These are images for today's Bible verse from Psalm 119:165, "Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble." Life can get all Twister-like, having you reach in every direction, challenging your balance, and pushing you to stumble. But amongst God's wonderful laws is the law to "love your neighbor as yourself" which is in multiple books of the Bible. What God wants us to do when life becomes Twister-like is to love and lean on each other. When you lose a job, lean on each other. When you have a bad day, lean on each other. When you have a loved one who's dying, lean on each other.

God is here for us through each other. It's called the Body of Christ. It's called the Church. God is here for me and my family through our church. When we lean on God by leaning on our church, nothing can make us stumble.

Let's love each other by praying that everyone has or finds an awesome church and then leans on that awesome church so that, just as God promises, none of us would stumble.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 02/27/18, "Day of Praise"

Galatians 2:20 - "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

In less than a month, Sunday, March 25, Palm Sunday, to be exact, we begin the Spirit-filling, mind-sharpening, heart-warming week called Holy Week, which is an 8-day, Sunday to Sunday journey with Jesus, recounting his path to the cross and beyond to his glorious resurrection. Our congregation offers 18 worship times that week with at least one opportunity to worship on each of the 8 days.

Why such an intensive focus and expenditure of time and energy?

Well, in Galatians 2:20, alone, there are two mentions of death, five mentions of life and living, and one mention of God's love in Jesus Christ. Here's how we might think about all this: Without the love story, it's just a sinking ship.

Without the love story, it's just a sinking ship. That's what's been said about the movie, "Titanic," and another movie "Pearl Harbor," and a real life fact, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Yes, Jesus died for us, but it's his love for us that takes his death for us and infuses it with power. He could have just died begrudgingly. But he didn't. He died on a cross from which he prayed, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Without the love story, the cross of Jesus is just a "sinking ship," a descent into a cold dark grave. But it's out of the power of love that Jesus died for us, and it's out of the power of love that God raised him from the dead.

The sinking ships of death and darkness and despair and the depths of the grave are always overcome by love. Remember? "Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus!" (Romans 8:38-39)

And that Jesus, who loves you, wants to live in you today and everyday because he not only wants to keep the ship of your life afloat, but he also wants to work through you by the power of the Holy Spirit so you can minister to people around you. Many of their ships are sinking. But your love in Jesus Christ poured on them, along with your Holy-Spirit-powered prayers for them and your promise-claiming words to them will help to keep their lives afloat too.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 02/26/18, "Day of Praise"

Genesis 16:13 - "So [Hagar] called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, 'You are the God who sees me,' for she said, 'Truly here I have seen him who looks after me.'"

Do you ever feel invisible? Like no one knows you exist?

God knows. God knows you exist. God sees you.

In today's Bible verse, we hear of Hagar. Through no fault of her own, Hagar was a person, specifically Hagar was a woman, who was looked down upon by everyone. Nobody saw her, except when they needed to get something from her. She might as well have been invisible. She might as well not have existed. She felt worthless.

Until God sent her a messenger.

And told her He sees her.

Then everything changed for Hagar.

Maybe not, probably not, in how people dealt with her. But now that didn't matter. Because she was not invisible. God saw her. God knew she existed.

And so it is for you. God has sent you a messenger, the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He has seen you. And your situation. And he has done something about your situation, so that, believing He still sees you, you will see Him.

So everything has changed for you. Maybe not, probably not, in how people deal with you. But now that doesn't matter. Because you're not invisible. God sees you. God knows you exist.

And, if you look, believing that it's true as God promises in Jesus Christ, then you will see God at work in your life by His Holy Spirit so that you can exclaim with Hagar, "You are the God who sees me, Truly here I have seen him who looks after me."

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 02/24/18, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 126:2 - "Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'"

Do y'all think the Almighty laughs? I was so close to finding out.

The second Sunday of the month is our 5 p.m. prayer and healing service, which Almighty God has used to bring physical, spiritual, and emotional healing to many. It's an amazing service for those who come. 

After a few calming songs and corporate prayer, we grab a chair and invite people to sit in it. Everyone lays their hands on the person in the chair and prays for them. Getting more than 4 or 5 people around one person requires some creativity, and we always have more than 4 or 5. 

I myself love this service and want others to have a great experience, so I'll assume one of the "creative" positions as we lay hands on the person in the chair. And, for those who don't know me, I not only love worship, but I also take worship very seriously. I mean, we're in the presence of the Holy God. So there's room to be real and smile and laugh but not to turn worship into Comedy Hour. 

So this one night a while back, in all reverence, I creatively found a spot where I had to kneel down next to the person in the chair as we all gathered around. And then it happened. I started to cramp. Ya know, one of those wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-with-a-calf-or-thigh-stuck-in-pain kind of cramps. And I'm thinking that I'm about to fall over in pain and be rolling all over the floor and be unable to breathe let alone speak, but everyone's going to think that this moderately conservative, reverent in worship, believer in healing, Lutheran pastor has been slain in the spirit. So I'm picturing this imminent, comical, cramp scene in my head while we're all praying over the chair person. And, I'm serious y'all, God zaps me and tells me I've got to stop drinking so much Diet Coke.

And I'm just hoping that God has a sense of humor because I'm not feeling very reverent and spiritual through these three minutes. And all I can do is turn my heart to God and, in a way that only God could hear, I squeal, "Please, Lord!" And immediately, I was able to say as in today's verse, "The Lord has done great things," as the cramp immediately went away. 

And not wanting to unnecessarily put God to the test, I did find a standing position when the next person sat in the chair.

So y'all, have a blessed Saturday, believing that God loves you and wants to heal you. And don't forget, as is also in today's verse, to let your "mouth [be] filled with laughter, and [your] tongue with shouts of joy!"

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

Fri, 02/23/18, "Day of Praise"

Isaiah 51:3 - "For the Lord comforts Zion; he comforts all her waste places and makes her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and the voice of song."

The work week can feel like a wilderness, leaving your soul in waste.

But in today's verse, God tells us of the renewal he will bring to Zion, that is the renewal God will bring to all people who would place their faith in Him.

Then, after resting up, after finding comfort and finding Eden Paradise where you were feeling drained, we are plainly commanded by God to go find some joy and gladness by going to give thanks and sing.

It's a rhythm, Friends. It's a rhythm. Work, rest, worship, renewal. Work, rest, worship, renewal. Work, rest, worship, renewal.

So today's the last day of the work week. Tomorrow you're resting up. So, Sunday? Well, let's be some place in worship. Ya know, for some renewal, joy, and gladness!

Love, y'all! Have a great day!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 02/22/18, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 139:14 - "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

When God, in His word, talks about having made us and many other things, the word "fear" is regularly a part of the equation. Very simply, the fact that "fear" and being "made" go hand in hand is a testimony that we, and all things, are made by the Almighty God. It follows, therefore, that there are things about us being made that are "wonderful," which means "beyond our understanding."

Like the precision.

The precision with which we and the universe are made is the proverbial "mind-boggling." There's this guy at our church. Whenever he folds a letter to go into an envelope, it takes a while. He makes a fold without creasing it. Then he pulls the envelope next to the fold and measures it up, making sure the letter's going to fit precisely. After all, he doesn't want the letter to spill out of the "sealed" envelope. Who knows what might happen to the letter?

It's the same, and so much more, with God fitting you precisely into the unique mold that God made for you. To be silly, can you imagine if all your intestines weren't folded precisely and they spilled out of the envelope, ya know, like intestines hanging out of your belly button. That wouldn't be pretty. Kinda awkward. And, like a letter spilling out of an envelope, who knows if you'd ever get where you were trying to go because of all the holdups? (Can't you see yourself running late into a meeting and saying, "Oh, I'm sorry, my small intestine got hung up on the parking meter"?)

But God made you with precision. In fact, God made you with Almighty Precision, like the whole universe, where the calculations are so narrow that there is like no room for error or the sun would burn the earth to a crisp and every one of the billions of billions of the stars of the heavens would be bouncing into each other like a big pinball machine that has way too many balls (say, more than one?) going at one time, or like a dirt-track smash-up derby in Kingsport, Tennessee where it's fun to watch until you start wondering what would happen if all those colliding cars got out of the boundaries that have been set for them, and then you realize that you'd need to run for your life.

But you don't.

You don't need to run for your life because the colliding cars have a boundary and because the colliding stars, well, they aren't colliding because they too were fearfully, wonderfully, and precisely made by the same God (make that, only God) who fearfully and wonderfully and precisely made you with almighty power and incomparable wisdom and unmatched care, like a guy at my church fitting a letter into an envelope.

In sum, you are an amazing person. God fit you uniquely into your own, made-just-for-you, mold.

Take some time today for you. Use the amazing tools, like Google and Bing and better yet the Bible, to learn about yourself. Discover and discern and deploy your God-given gifts. In the strength and wisdom and care of the Almighty, become master over your self-destructive "leanings" instead of letting them rule your life. (Leanings? Sure, we can talk more about that. When would you like to get together?)

Let's say it again, you are an amazing person. God fit you uniquely into your own, made-just-for-you, mold. So let's all join the inspired Psalmist, who in Psalm 139:14 says, "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."

Praaaaaaaaise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 02/21/18, "Day of Praise"

Galatians 6:9 - "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."

We have two monetary offerings in worship. The one is the standard, pass-the-plate offering for all the ministries of the church. The second is what we call the "Mercy Ministry Basket," which is for a very specific mercy ministry. The Mercy Basket goes to something different each week.

The thing about the Mercy Basket is that it's not passed around. It's just placed on the floor in the front of the church at the same time the standard offering plates are being passed. People young and old must get up and go put something in the Mercy Basket. If nobody, gets up and goes, then the Mercy Basket stays empty. The Mercy Basket never stays empty.

Today is an ordinary workday. In an ordinary workday, just like we have two worship offering opportunities, we all have two workday offering opportunities. There's the work that comes our way that is our job for which we get paid or volunteer. And then there's the Mercy Work which will only get done if we get up and go put something into it. The Mercy Needs are the work of taking an interest in the people connected to our work. They're not just there to help us make money. They're people. They, like us, need mercy. If nobody gets up and goes, then the Mercy Needs stay empty. Ya know, like Jesus put some energy, not to mention all his blood, into having mercy on us.

There's more to a workday than the work that comes our way. Let's look at the people in our workday like Jesus looks at us. Our world is a better place to live in when the Mercy Basket doesn't stay empty. Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, puts mercy into the basket of our soul so we can put mercy into the soul basket of others.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 02/20/18, "Day of Praise"

2 Corinthians 4:8 - "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair."

Ever been perplexed? To be perplexed means to watch someone complicate a situation so badly that it's totally baffling and confusing.

One time in particular that I was perplexed stands out for me. My son, Caden, had a biology project due, and I was at Target to get the required neon-orange poster-board. I searched the stack of poster-board to find a piece that wasn't already wrinkled so Caden could have a nice presentation. And then, at the check-out counter, I laid it carefully on the conveyor so it stayed unwrinkled. I thought that surely the cashier would see that the poster-board couldn't fit if it was moved down the conveyor, so certainly the cashier would scan it while it was flat. But before I knew it, the cashier looked at the poster-board, started the conveyor, watched the poster-board get scrunched like an accordion as the conveyor pushed it through, and then they said, "How are you? Kid got a project?" 

I was perplexed, baffled, and confused. My son's poor, carefully-chosen, unwrinkled poster-board was carelessly destroyed by a person that I'm now going to have to pay.

But in spite of my perplexity, God reminded me of today's verse in 2 Corinthians 4:8, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair." God reminded me that life in this world can be a lot like that poster-board. You plan for it, pick it carefully, take care to keep it nice. But when you put it out there, it gets plowed into by the world. But the reason we're not "crushed" or "driven to despair" is because God has shown us in Jesus's crucifixion (being plowed into) and resurrection that God has the power and uses the power to (pardon the pun) straighten things out. And if we (pardon the pun) get all bent out of shape about our things, like poster-board, that just got bent out of shape, then we usually miss what God's about to do.

In the case of the poster-board, the young cashier started telling me how she was watching me interact with the others in line, and she wondered if she could ask me a faith question about how she should look at the chronic problem of pain that she had in her life. Of course, in light of that question, poster-board now became nothing, and God again showed what's most important, namely, the people in our lives who are perplexed and plowed over instead of the things that they might blemish.

So take a deep breath, y'all! Even when life gets a little hurtful, baffling, and perplexing, God's gonna straighten it out. Just trust him, and give him a moment. God's gonna smooth the way.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 02/19/18, "Day of Praise"

Daniel 1:9a - "And God gave Daniel favor and compassion."

Being a dad and being smart don't always go hand in hand. 

As dads, we like to hang with our kids. Not just hang with them as in be with them, but hang with them as in do what they do. Ya know, keep up with them. Like when my brother and I were in our teens and my dad was in his forties, he would hang with my brother and me. We played church softball, so he played church softball. We'd hit the ball and run fast. He'd hit the ball and, well, pull a muscle.

Now I understand. 

My son's in his teens, and I'm in my fifties, early fifties, 53 to be exact, but fifties nonetheless. But I want to hang with him. 

So he lifts weights. I do push ups. He lifts weights. He asks me to lift with him. I do push ups, so I think I can lift weights. So a couple years ago, I did start to lift the weight, kinda like my dad hit the ball, and then I slap tore my right labrum, ya know, my shoulder rotator thingy. Right, Doc? Just like my dad pulled a muscle.

Being a dad and being smart don't always go hand in hand.

So, what I did was what my dad did. I favored it. Ya know, my dad favored his pulled hamstring. I favored my shoulder rotator thingy. You do know what it is to favor something, don't you? You take it easy on it. You lighten the load. You take some weight and burden off it. You favor it.

That's what God did with Daniel in today's verse. God favored Daniel. God took it easy on him. God lightened his load. God took some weight and burden off Daniel. God favored him.

In Psalm 84:11, God says that God favors anybody who walks uprightly. "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Throughout God's word, walking uprightly simply means to trust God and His word so much that you really listen for God and listen to God and ask God for His strength to do what He tells us to do.

And why would anyone want to do what God tells us? Well, because the opposite of walking uprightly is walking slumped over, ya know, like you're injured, bum hamstring, bum shoulder rotator thingy. Some people actually think that walking apart from God, walking slumped is better, like a guy I met one time. I tried so hard to tell him about God's favor, how God's Son, Jesus, lightens the load, takes some weight and burden off, favors those who trust Him. But Mr B wouldn't hear of it. Why? Because being a human and being smart don't always go hand in hand.

Hey y'all, life's hard enough as it is. God wants to show you some favor, heal the injuries of your soul, lighten your load, take some weight and burden off. Be smart; trust Him; follow His lead, and, like Daniel of old, claim God's promise in Psalm 84:11, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 02/17/18, "Day of Praise"

John 15:12 - [Jesus said,] "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

What does that even mean? What does Jesus mean when he says, "as I have loved you?" Exactly, how did he love us? We need to know how he loved us before we can love one another in that way.

In sum, short version, Jesus loves us with mercy and grace. 

Same thing, a little longer version, Jesus doesn't give us what we deserve (that's mercy), and he gives us what we don't deserve (that's grace).

Illustration: When I was a kid, there was this one day that I did multiple things that deserved a whoopin' from my dad. Sure he should've whooped me because I showed my worst self, but he didn't because he showed me mercy. Just like Jesus, my dad didn't give me what he could've given me because I deserved to get it. That's mercy. That's loving one another as Jesus loved us.

But it didn't stop there. I distinctly remember us going out to eat that night, which most families rarely did those days. Also having multiple choices of fast food was relatively new to our little Tennessee town, and for some crazy reason I remember that I got to pick the place. My brother and sisters just looked at me like, "Are you kidding? You get in a heap of trouble, and you get to pick where all six of us have to eat?" I picked the best stinkin' place in town, Long John Silver's. You went in smelling like human. You came out smelling like fried fish and vinegar. I loved it! My dad gave me what he didn't have to. That's grace. That's loving one another as Jesus loved us.

Can you imagine what this world would be like if, not even all people, but maaaaan, I'd take most people; what would this world be like if we loved one another as Jesus loved us? What would it be like if even most people didn't honk back at everyone who honked at them even though they "deserved" it? If even most people just let stuff go? Not murder, for heaven's sake. Most of the problems in this world aren't murder; they're the little things that irritate that we could just as easily choose to let go of instead of fueling them with the lighter fluid of murmuring.

Okay, so that's enough examples, or we'll be here all day. And as much as y'all send kind words about this devotion, no one wants to be reading it all day. At some point, we've got to move on. 

And that's exactly what Jesus is saying to us. Life moves on, from bitterness to reconciliation, from irritability to joy, from sour grapes to hope, from weariness to gladness, from darkness to light, from death to life, from cross to grave to resurrection when we love one another as Jesus loves us.

Mercy and grace, friends; pass on the mercy and grace. Just as God, through Jesus, keeps passing it to you!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 02/16/18, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 23:27 - "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness."

It's so easy for reality (whether destructive forces or God's blessings) to slip past us and get whitewashed and covered over by the subtle deceptions of the world.

How do we keep this from happening? Of course, the most important way is to stay in God's Word daily which is a vertical, us-to-God practice. 

But there's a horizontal, us-to-others practice that's also very important, namely, searching one another's souls. In a nutshell, to search one another's souls is to acknowledge that all of us have stuff (that's just below the surface of our public persona) that's been white-washed. It's stuff that's been covered because of the values of this fallen world: in sum, we value things and achievements more than people. So people whitewash and cover the questions and agonies of their soul for fear that they won't measure up, for fear they'll get fired, for fear that people will think they're weird, for fear that a spouse will leave or grown children won't come around, for fear that they'll wind up alone. 

Tragically and ironically, the result of white-washing, covering up all our soul-ache and brokenness is the very thing that was feared: the result of the cover-up is that people wind up alone.

Oh, yes, they're surrounded by people, but they're people who are doing the exact same thing: covering up. They're the people in your neighborhood, your workplace, your grocery store, your school, your pew at church, your home, and your mirror.

And here's all we need to do to attack this white-washing that is destroying the soul of our world, our nation, our families, and our own selves. All we need to do is ask, "How are you doing?"

And mean it.

That's what God does for us in Jesus.

So that we can, in Christ's love, do the same for one another. 

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

Thur, 02/15/18, "Day of Praise"

Genesis 22:8 - "Abraham said, 'God will provide for himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.'"

Psalm 50:10 - [The LORD says,] "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills."

PASTOR CHRIS'S WARNING TO READERS: Do NOT read further if you only have a minute, if you are feeling easily offended today, or if you want your life to stay the same. So if you read on, don't say that I didn't warn you.

I can almost guarantee that you're living too small. Noted American researcher, George Barna's studies show 90-95% of American Christians are living a life of scarcity. Most Christians forfeit their spiritual wealth and, therefore, unnecessarily live a life of scarcity instead of abundance.

Let's change that!

But you're going to have to not only believe, but you're also going to have to put your faith in action.

That's what Abraham did in today's first Bible verse. Abraham lived large; he lived a life of abundance. But it all started by putting his faith in action.

When Abraham walked up that mountain with his son, Isaac, so that he could sacrifice his son, his only son, as God had commanded, look what Abraham says, "God will provide for himself." In other words, Abraham claimed the character of God and the promise of God. Abraham believed that God would provide for himself out of the riches of God's own abundance, as noted in today's second verse in Psalm 50:10, "The cattle on a thousand hills [is mine, 'says the Lord.]"

Have y'all ever heard of a faith promise pledge? A faith promise pledge is pledging to give something before you have it because you believe that God is going to inexplicably provide it. That's what Abraham was doing. He was living large, a life of abundance, pledging to give something before he had it, believing God would provide out of God's own bounty.

I know you're saying you've never been given a test like Abraham and asked to sacrifice a child like Abraham, but actually that's not true. When God, in Malachi, chapter 3, calls all of us to tithe (which is to give ten percent of our income to God's life-changing work through His church), God is asking us to sacrifice our loved ones because the studies show that the main reason people don't give 10% as God commands is because they don't want to take away things from their loved ones. 

But in God's economy, that "don't-obey-God-so-you-can-give-more-to-your-loved-ones" thinking is scarcity thinking. The bottom line is that scarcity thinking actually has the audacity to believe that you can give more to your loved ones than the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And that God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills is the God who promises to give those cattle to you by opening the floodgates of heaven, if you'll just trust Him by thanking Him with the Biblical tithe, the first ten percent of your income!

Friends, interestingly, more than ninety percent of y'all who receive this Day of Praise devotion don't worship at the congregation I serve as pastor, so this isn't a fund-raiser for me. No it's a FUN-raiser for you. It's a call for you to live large, to live out of God's abundance instead of your scarcity, to live a faith promise, to tithe the Biblical ten percent, to give something to God even before you have it because you believe that God is going to inexplicably provide it, believing that God does what he promises to do. 

God owns both the cattle on a thousand hills and also the storehouse of heaven, and He wants to pour out His abundance on you! 

Start living large like Abraham. Start trusting God and tithing today!

You can't outgive God, gang. You can't outgive God!

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

Wed, 02/14/18, Ash Wednesday, "Day of Praise"

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, which is a season to begin Bible-based disciplines to remember and grow in the immeasurable love of Jesus.

Psalm 147:1 - "Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting."

It is good! It is good to sing!

I was with my friend, Lynn Headley, when her mom, Theresa Rochford, died yesterday, Tuesday, February 13 at 4 pm. Just last week, Theresa and I sang together at her assisted living facility where she was in hospice care. We sang hymns "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" and "For the Beauty of the Earth" and other traditional hymns. Theresa loved it and hummed or sang in a very muttered way as best she could, but it's not a stretch to say that she was leading the singing. It is good! It is good to sing!

Some of you might be saying, "I could never sing with a person in hospice care." Maybe you think your singing hurts other people's ears. But actually, not singing hurts you!

Here's a link to a fascinating article that explains what God said long ago: "It is good! It is good to sing!" (http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/12/26/144152193/singing-therapy-helps-stroke-patients-speak-again) In sum, for more than 100 years, it's been known that people who can't speak after injury to the speech centers on the left side of the brain can sing. They can't speak, but they can sing. In the 1970's, Boston researchers started to use a sort of "singing therapy" to help stroke survivors speak again. However, it never caught on much, but in recent years that's changing fast.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who has had a version of "singing therapy," astounded everyone by her ability to speak again after a would-be assassin's bullet tore through the speech center in Giffords' left brain. Giffords' progress came about in large part because Giffords' loved ones, like a growing number of doctors, bought into God's truth: It is good! It is good to sing!

And it's even better when those words are songs of hope and praise from God's word. For just as Theresa attested last week when we were singing while she was in hospice, no matter how physically weak a heart and mind may be, singing songs of hope and praise to God brings real renewal, strength and comfort to both the human heart and mind.

So, maybe for Lent, which starts today, you could take on the discipline of singing a little everyday because God's Word is true. "Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting." (Psalm 147:1)

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

Tu, 02/13/18, "Day of Praise"

Exodus 16:35 - "The people of Israel ate the manna forty years, till they came to a habitable land. They ate the manna till they came to the border of the land of Canaan."

I love Cap'n Crunch!

Ya' know? The cereal. Cap'n Crunch was a large part of one of my best seasons in life.

I was three or four. And I was sick.

I had chicken pox. As did my older brother, Ben. The way I remember it, my mom let Ben and me eat Cap'n Crunch for every single meal as we were quarantined in our bedroom at the top of the stairs on the right.

They might remember it differently, but it doesn't matter because I have a great memory of eating the same food for every meal of everyday for a week. And I never tired of it once.

A few years later, I got to eat Mac n Cheese almost every meal for a week. Every meal. The same thing.

Both of those seasons were connected to a wilderness, to something "bad": chicken pox and missing my parents.

But God provided for me everyday in both wildernesses, just as God provided for His people everyday in the wilderness in today's Bible verse. Everyday God gave them "manna," which means "What is it?"

And that's what the people asked about that stuff, "What is it?"

And in essence, God said, "It's manna! It's my provision!"

"Noooooo," the people replied, "what iiiiiiiiis it?"

"It's manna," God said, "it's not supposed to be tasty. It's a reminder that I am your provision, that my Word is the Bread of Life."

Can y'all imagine what that was like? Wandering around in a wilderness for forty years, eating the same manna stuff every single day? I bet it felt like they were going nowhere. Just like I did the time I had chicken pox and the time I missed my parents and a season I had no money. It felt like my life was going nowhere.

And so it was.

Going nowhere.

So God came to me.

In my wilderness. With manna. Ya know? Cap'n Crunch and the like. Reminders of His Presence.

Just like God comes to you.

In your wilderness.

Hang in there.

You're not alone.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 02/12/18, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 106:43-45 - "Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity. Nevertheless, [God] looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love."

Nevertheless!

Though we stumble over ourselves, God loves us. Nevertheless!

As the weather here in Birmingham, Alabama has warmed a little, it actually makes me think of snow and one of our little neighbor girls in her driveway next door during a snow we had a couple years ago. 

Ya see, she was helping her daddy move the extremely large snow drifts in front of their garage. I mean, they must've been at least three inches high.

So, she gets out daddy's big ol' garden shovel. And she carefully cuts across the top inch of the snow drift, lifts the shovel, and just as carefully pours the snow on another spot.

On the driveway.

At this rate, she should have all the snow removed at about, uh, let's say, the time it melts.

Sometimes, we children of God do things in a way that, well, let's just say we don't make much progress. Today's Bible verse starts with "Many times he delivered them;" that's because the people kept doing things in a way that, well, let's just say they didn't make much progress. God describes our doings as follows: "they were rebellious in their purposes and were brought low through their iniquity."

But then comes the great encouragement: "Nevertheless!" "Nevertheless, [God] looked upon their distress, when he heard their cry. For their sake he remembered his covenant, and relented according to the abundance of his steadfast love."

Y'all, if you think you get frustrated sometimes with yourself and a lot more with others because things aren't progressing too well, just think how frustrated God is!!!

Nevertheless, God keeps being God, the God who keeps getting it done: meeting us, loving us, skooching us along, moving some snow.

Off the driveway.

Making a way for us to move on.

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, 02/10/18, "Day of Praise"

Lamentations 3:41 - "Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven."

Have you ever thought about a light switch? It's such a neat little thing. Powerful most of all. You switch it up, and there's always something good: light to see what you're doing, cool air from a fan to comfort you, or maybe an exhaust fan to clear the air.

Turning on a light switch is a lot like lifting "up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41). It's such a neat little thing. Powerful most of all. You switch it up, and there's always something good: light from Christ to see what you're doing, cool air from the fan that is the Holy Spirit to comfort you, and an exhaust fan that is the Word of God to clear the air.

God in Christ has shown us that he wants all people to know his blessings; his blessings are not just reserved for some crazy spiritual group. So c'mon people, aaaaaall people, "Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven" (Lamentations 3:41). You'll be blessed, and God will be praised.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 02/09/18, "Day of Praise"

1 Corinthians 4:5 - "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God."

Don't be so quick to give up on God.

That's what God is saying through Paul in today's verse: don't be so quick to give up on God.

Recently, a friend of mine was telling me how he had done what he usually did, namely, jumped to conclusions. But God was patient with him and showed him something else, something better, something that God alone could do.

When I was a kid, I loved watching the super hero Batman in the 30-minute episodes on weekday afternoon TV. Adam West was great at playing Batman and doing what a super hero does, namely, showing up in the nick of time to save the day.

That's what God does in Jesus Christ; God shows up in the nick of time, before it's too late, to save the day. But in order for us to see God's timing and God's saving work, it requires faith and patience and not jumping to conclusions.

Something is going to go wrong in your day today. May God grant faith and patience to us all, that we might see God's marvelous, unmatched, and always perfectly-timed solution!

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Thur, 02/08/18, "Day of Praise"

Colossians 1:17 - "And [Christ Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

So worship had just started one Sunday, as it always does, with the Confession of Sin. I was in the narthex because it was Youth Sunday. Being in the narthex, I found it very hard to focus on God's word because of all the distractions: churning coffee, shuffling late comers, clicking candle lighters, and more.

It was like life--a world full of noises and things that both distract from God's word and that also lead to fragmentation of spirit and brokenness in life.

But then the Youth did this awesome sermon where they had eight rectangular tiles spread on the floor. The "preacher" would pick up a tile, and then a brief story testimony from a person's broken, fragmented, hurting life played through the sound system. The preacher then handed the tile representing the broken life story to another youth who placed the tile in a container. Then they repeated that with another tile and a different broken story seven times.

After the eighth story, the 2nd youth picked up the container of tiles and showed it to everyone. Together, the tiles, representing broken lives, formed a beautiful cross, the cross of Jesus Christ. In the cross of Jesus, broken lives are held together and healed, forming a beautiful picture of life together in Jesus.

It's a beautiful testimony to the truth in Colossians 1:17, "And [Christ Jesus] is before all things, and in him all things hold together." Indeed, in Jesus, all things hold together.

Give him your brokenness. Listen to others' brokenness. And discover how Jesus holds together and blesses those who do.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Wed, 02/07/18, "Day of Praise"

Romans 6:19 - "For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification."

I mean, how hard can it be?

Well, let me tell you.

I'm a flosser, but I think, "There's got to be an easier way." So, I decide to try out this thing that somebody gave me years ago. It's just like my dad had when I was a kid. His was called a Water Pik; ya know, a thing to clean out your gums and get rid of all that stuff that causes bad breath and gum disease. The main unit has a place for "your favorite mouthwash" plus an on/off switch and a dial for various power levels. The three-foot long tube connects the main unit to the mouth sprayer, which has a button to "spray" your gums or stop the spray.

So, I get it ready. I plug it in and turn it "on". The next thing you know I've got the cleanest bathroom mirror in Alabama. I turn it "off" but mouthwash is still spewing all over the counter. The thing is out of control. So I turn the setting to "low." It's still spewing uncontrollably. So I stick it in my mouth, and it chokes me because it's coming so fast. So I spit it out and unplug the thing. It's still spewing, my teeth are blue, and my bathroom looks like Sigourney Weaver and the Alien just slung blue blood at each other. The whole thing probably lasted 20 seconds.

It reminds me of today's Bible verse that tells us how quickly sin, impurity, and lawlessness get out of control and take over our lives.

But take heart! Through faith in Jesus Christ, sin is brought under control. By faith in Jesus' death, we're freed from the penalty of sin; that's justification. By faith in Jesus' resurrection and his living presence with us, we're freed from the power of sin; that's sanctification. And by faith in Jesus' return, ushering in a new heaven and earth, we'll be freed from the presence of sin; that's glorification.

So the next time something or somebody goes crazy out of control in your life. Remember and believe that Jesus is Lord over all things, even a crazy mouth and gum cleaner machine that now has a home in the garbage!

So have a happy day! And don't forget to...

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Tues, 02/06/18, "Day of Praise"

Luke 23:24 - "So Pilate decided that their demand should be granted."

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

Pilate decided on the crowd against Jesus. Paul decided on Jesus and his cross, period. What have you decided?

One time I asked a guy whose jacket was covered in logos of professional basketball teams, "Which team do you pull for?" With a slight turn toward me, he replied, "Whichever one I'm betting on."

Hmmmm. "Whichever one I'm betting on." He might as well have said, "I decide to give my energy and money to the one that I need to win."

Pilate bet on the crowd and bet against Jesus. Paul bet on Jesus and the cross of Jesus Christ.

In other words, Pilate decided to give his energy and money to the crowd. Paul decided to give his energy and money to Jesus and Jesus's cross.

Pilate needed the crowd to win because Pilate wanted his own JOB to be saved. Paul needed Jesus to win because Paul wanted his own LIFE ALONG WITH THE LIVES OF OTHERS to be saved.

Hey, y'all, decisions, decisions, decisions today. Ya need to go with Jesus. He's won.

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Mon, 02/05/18, "Day of Praise"

Colossians 4:2 - "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving."

So what does it mean that God, through Paul, commands us to be "watchful" in our continual prayer? I remember once when our son and I were grabbing a quick bite of dinner at Subway before my evening meetings. This man and his two teenage sons came and sat in the booth next to us, and the man asked his sons to pray with him. So the man bows his head and is praying over the food, while the boys bow their body, but their eyes are open, and they're looking around, watching to see if anyone sees them eating "thankfully" during the prayer. Their eyes get that "busted" look when they see that I'm watching and smiling, and then they close their eyes and stop eating, listening to the end of their father's prayer.

I hope you're chuckling because, hey, I do understand those boys because I've been at a table and seen adults at another table do what those boys did. I've even observed pastors doing it, bowing body but eating with eyes open while someone else prayed!!!

However, I don't think that "Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving" means "watch to see if someone's looking while you eat your food that you're thankful for while someone else is praying."

In sum, what God wants us to do is to be ever mindful that God is with us; this is being prayerful. And mindful that God is with us, we're called to watch for and give thanks for the many blessings that God is constantly sharing. It's an ongoing lifestyle and a constant posture of the heart that makes us grateful both for Subway sandwiches and also for the chance to close our eyes for a moment and tell God, "Thanks!"

As always, God will help us to learn to "continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 4:2)

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Sat, 02/03/18, "Day of Praise"

Philippians 4:4-7 - "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Praise God!

Day of Praise

Fri, 02/02/18, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 51:10 - "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."

Well, football season is almost over with the Super Bowl coming this Sunday. But it doesn't pass without reminding me of my glory days. (Don't laugh too hard.)

In particular, I remember my eighth grade football team from Ross N. Robinson Middle School playing our cross-town rival John Sevier in our final game in Kingsport, Tennessee.

I was the quarterback. (See, I must've been okay.)

We got crushed. (Well, maybe I wasn't that good after all.)

It was pouring down rain, and the field was a mud pit. I remember getting tackled on one play, and my nose literally got rubbed in the dirt, which meant that my face and everything else on the front of me was covered in mud. And since we got crushed, I'm quite sure that I also got placed on my backside on one, two, or ten plays.

The best part of that game for me was the shower after the game. I probably should've been hosed down. But the bottom line was that washing away all that mud made me feel like a new young man.

Kinda like God's forgiveness.

Ya know, David wrote today's verse and all of Psalm 51 after he stunk up the field of life with peeping at women he shouldn't have and then scheming to get one he shouldn't have and then doing the unspeakable as he shouldn't have and then plotting to kill her husband as he shouldn't have. Wow, talk about a spiritually, relationally, emotionally, muddy mess.

When David, in Psalm 51:10, prayed, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me," he was saying, "God, I've stunk up the place. Everything I've touched has become a dirty mess. Please, hose me down."

And God did.

And David became a new man. Not perfect or mistake free, but clean. Refreshed. Forgiven. A new beginning.

Do you have anything in your life that needs to get cleaned up, hosed down, showered off? Give your dirt to God.

A refreshing shower from God awaits you.

Praise God!