Day of Praise

Fri, 06/29/18, "Day of Praise"

Revelation 7:11-12 - "And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, 'Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'"

An oft run tv ad asks, "What's in your wallet?" The better question for us today is "What's on your list?"

We have lists for a lot of things. Daily "things to do" lists. A running "grocery list." Amanda and I have a "packing list" for a little trip to help our daughter, Cassidy, move to a new home. I have a very short "bucket list" of things I want to do before I die. I have a "things I want my kids to know about God" list. We have a prayer list. We have a "thanks be to God" list. There are lists, it seems, for everything that is truly important to us. 

But God, in the Bible verses today, asks us if we really have the most important lists. Yes, I do have God on the names of some of my lists, but God's asking if I have any lists of things that help me myself and therefore you yourself to know and remember God. After all, if Jesus teaches us, in John 17:3, that abundant, full, and eternal life is tied to knowing God and his Son, Jesus Christ, whom he sent, then I better stop and think if I can make any lists about any particular things about God, ya know, like names for God in the Bible, attributes of God in the Bible, and today's Bible verses list of things that should be ascribed to God. Some guy, named Meredith, made a huge book of "Bible lists" that even helps us to know the many Bible lists about God and Jesus that help us to have eternal life by knowing God more intimately.

Today's verses from Revelation 7:11-12 have the angels standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, falling on their faces before the throne and worshiping God with a list, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen." If you're counting, that's a list of seven things that belong to God, which we're to acknowledge as belonging to God. We're either supposed to publicly give these to God from our heart (blessing, glory, thanksgiving, and honor), or we're supposed to acknowledge them as coming from God alone if we have them (wisdom, power, and might).

So, if you're a list-maker, and we all are, whether we write them down or not, then the next time you make a list, may that list be a reminder for us that God wants us to have the most important lists. God wants us to have lists of things we know about God, for it is in knowing God and Jesus more intimately each day that we have the abundant, eternal life that God eagerly desires for the list of all of us, who are his children.

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, 06/28/18, "Day of Praise"

Mark 10:13-14 - "And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, 'Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.'"

I've always believed that one of the things that bothered the disciples about children being brought to Jesus was that the children introduced an air that was less serious than the disciples had come to share with Jesus. On the one hand, the disciples were listening to Jesus and taking him seriously when he talked about loving your enemy, sacrificing money and sleep, watching vigilantly, and praying without ceasing. And into the midst of these serious teachings comes these innocent, dependent, playful, giggly kids which obviously bothered the disciples. But Jesus said, "Bring 'em on! To such belongs the kingdom of heaven!"

So wouldn't it stand to reason that Jesus was open to a good clean joke from time to time. I think Jesus might get a kick out of this one: "What do you call cheese that isn't yours? Nacho cheese."

When I was in college, my campus pastor, Missouri Synod Lutheran Pastor Bill Couch, who was as serious as any human being that ever lived, always used to say to me, "DeGreen, you take yourself way too seriously." And then he'd encourage me and all of us to lighten up, to laugh at ourselves and recognize how God graciously provides for our limitations and foibles. Additionally, my very first secretary at my church was Connie Cunningham. Connie went to her grave with breast cancer, poking fun at herself and anyone else who would lighten up, saying that laughter is the best weapon for battling cancer and all that ails you.

To be sure, the great Dale Carnegie said that the safest humor is poking fun at yourself, in essence, "throwing yourself under the bus," as the phrase goes nowadays. But as a couple of my older sisters in Christ are eager to remind me by regularly poking fun at me, if you can't take a little ribbing from others then you probably need to lighten up.

Bottom line is that God's Word and giggles are good for everybody. That's why I believe that when Jesus was dishing up God's Word, he was thrilled when parents started dishing up their children, with their short attention spans, total dependence, playfulness, giggles, and all.

So consider doing as my children and other significant adults in my life and I do each day. Make a commitment to laughing and having some giggles together in the Lord. There's a good chance such laughter will help us to celebrate the invitation of Jesus to come as we are and to revel in his grace.

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, 06/27/18, "Day of Praise!"

Job 5:16 - "So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts her mouth."

Did you know the Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones (who was also the voice of Darth Vader in "Star Wars") movie, "Field of Dreams" is based on the book titled, "Shoeless Joe"? The movie was originally named "Shoeless Joe" also until the audiences that previewed it said that "Shoeless Joe" made the movie sound like it was a story about a homeless guy that no one would want to see. So in order to draw more people, they changed the movie title to the much more hopeful "Field of Dreams." 

This shows us again that, no matter how bad things get for people, in our heart of hearts, we all long for a word of hope. We're all looking for someone or something to fill that hole in our soul with something that actually satisfies it. And today's Bible verse reminds us that the God of hope, who showed us himself in Jesus and dwells in us by the Holy Spirit, is the only one and the hope that God alone gives is the only thing that can rightly fill the hole in the soul of every person.

We don't usually think about the book of Job (pronounced with a long "o" as in "hope") as the place to run to in the Bible when we're looking for hope. But actually, in addition to today's hopeful verse from Job 5:16, "So the poor have hope," there are some other actually quite famous verses of hope in Job. In Job 1:21, we hear, "The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." And in Job 19:25, "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth."

The point is that the Bible is a book of hope from the true God of hope that ministers to every human being's need for a word of hope. So let's not only read and thank God for the Bible and the hope that he alone gives us, which is fulfilled and perfected in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but today let's also be who the God of hope made us in his image to be, namely, the people of hope who not only are more eager to hear about a "Field of Dreams" moreso than "Shoeless Joe," but who also have a word of hope that makes dreams come true for Shoeless Joe and all the people we know and will meet. 

I hope you have a great day, and I know that, when your heart's set on Jesus, the fulfillment of all true hope, you will!!! And remember to pass hope 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

Tues, 06/26/18, "Day of Praise"

Y'all sent a lot of joy and laughter to me in response to the Monday Day of Praise, so here's one of my favorite devotionals from the past that I pray will also make you smile. 

Ephesians 5:22 - "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord."

As much as you probably think it is, based on today's Bible verse, today's devotion is not about marriage, wives, or submission. It's about the little phrase "your own" in today's verse, which means it's about quirks and idiosyncrasies. Please let me explain. 

Have you ever watched someone eat chips and salsa at a restaurant? It can really be quite hilarious. One time, on my way to and from the restroom, I observed this one person who already had their mouth wide open as they dipped their chip into the salsa. Then, having used the chip more like a scoop, they moved the chip up and down three times with the same rhythm that they moved their head and wide open mouth, which didn't seem to help much, since they got some salsa in their mouth but most of it down their shirt. They repeated the exact sequence as I returned from the restroom. Fortunately, they laughed at their own self even as I tried respectfully not to. After all, I have my own quirks and idiosyncrasies. 

An idiosyncrasy (id·i·o·syn·cra·sy) is a mode of behavior or way of thought peculiar to an individual. It can also be called a quirk, which is a peculiar behavioral habit.

Here's a couple of mine. First, when I'm working a puzzle, I find it necessary to tap twice on any piece that I fit into its place. Somehow it seems that I'm telling the piece to stay in place, or I'm saying, "Ha! I got ya, ya little puzzle piece!" Or another quirk and idiosyncrasy of mine is when I close a lady's car door, I always tap the car window twice as if I'm telling my Amanda or Calley or Cassidy or mother, "Now, you stay in there!," as if they're a little puzzle piece that I finally got into its place! It's just my quirk, my idiosyncrasy, my peculiar behavioral habit.

In today's Bible verse from Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord," the phrase "your own" is from the Greek word "idios," which is the root of our word "idiosyncrasy" and (chuckle! chuckle!) "idiot."

See God is not telling every woman who is a wife to submit to every man who is a husband. God is telling every wife to submit to her own husband, her own private husband, her own personal husband, the unique and quirky husband belonging to her with all his peculiar idiosyncrasies.

More broadly speaking, God is telling us that, as we get to know someone, we'll get to know their quirky ways of doing things. Maybe they need their clothes folded a particular way or hung on particular hangers. Or maybe they drive with a foot on the dashboard. Or maybe they chew their gum in a way that irritates the stew out of you. They're not Biblically moral matters; they're quirks and idiosyncrasies. They're things that make people unique and therefore fun in getting to know and love them...quirks and all!

So let's declare today "Love 'your own' friends and family day!" In essence, it's "Identify, celebrate, smile at, laugh at, and love the people in your life for all their quirks and idiosyncrasies day!" It could be lots of fun!!!

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

Mon, 06/25/18, "Day of Praise"

Psalm 98:6 - "With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!"

Iiiiiiiit's wonderful how the smallest thing can lead to a joyful celebration. 

Like the time when I was taking my daughter to the doctor in downtown, Birmingham. 

We were just sitting at a traffic light, when, all of a sudden, the tiniest, little, dot-sized spider runs up the face of my steering wheel. I felt really bad about it, but he startled me to such a degree that, when I reached down to try and pet him, I not only made him nice and flat, like peanut butter, but I also celebrated him by accidentally honking the car horn. The next thing we know there are all these other cars celebrating with us. Like in today's Bible verse from Psalm 98:6, all the cars were using the "sound of the horn [to] make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!" In fact, there were so many cars making "a joyful noise before the King, the Lord" that I thought for sure that we were in church!

And to think that all that joy and celebration started because of a sweet little spider.  

So, today, let's do some celebrating! Like the little spider, we can celebrate the smallest things. Did ya wake up this morning? Celebrate! Do ya have someone to say "Hi!" to this morning instead of being all alone? Celebrate! Do ya have clothes to choose from in a closet in a secure dwelling? Celebrate! Do ya have an orange or any other delectable fruit in your fridge to eat for breakfast? Celebrate! Do ya have transportation and a place to go and do a meaningful job as a volunteer or for pay? Celebrate! Do ya know the love of Jesus? Celebrate! Is there some person in your life where, if you would swing by their work station or their home or their hospital and just be friends together, then they'd be grateful? Celebrate!

Friends, life is short! Just ask my little spider friend! So let's seize every opportunity, no matter how small, to "make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!" And remember there's always the possibility, that, even if you're just sitting at a traffic light and with a honk of your horn you celebrate the light turning green, there's a good chance that others will join in the celebration too! Yaaaaaay!!!

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, 06/22/18, "Day of Praise"

Isaiah 25:6 - "On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines."

A couple years ago my wife, Amanda, and I drove from Alabama to Tennessee where we scooped up my mom and then drove on up the road to my mom's family in Pennsylvania. The memory of that trip reminds me of my childhood, specifically when my siblings and I were at our grandparents' homes in north-central Pennsylvania during strawberry season. Gram Yost had, what she called, a truck patch, which was filled with the most delicious strawberries you ever ate in your life. And Gram would just let us go sit in the truck patch and eat "strawbabies" until our little hearts were content. It was heaven!

Well, at least it was a picture of heaven. 

In today's verse from Isaiah 25:6, God is telling us, as he does consistently in scripture, that heaven will be a feast of abundance. The "Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines." And in order that we might enjoy the feast, God goes on to say that he'll remove death, tears, and disgrace.

Wow! Sign me up! I wanna be there!!!

But there's a catch, the same catch as always with God and his word. You must believe! You must believe that God is preparing this for you and for all people. In the face of whatever poverty, lack, difficulty, or hardship that you currently have going on, God calls you to believe that better times are on the horizon. And when you believe that a feast is just ahead, you actually begin to taste it in your heart right now. 

That's the power of well-placed faith. When you put your faith in any person or power or comfort of this world, just count on being disappointed down the road. But when you put your faith in God coming through down the road, when you truly believe that God's going to come through on his promises, then you immediately start to taste the fruit in the present.

Like a truck patch full of strawberries from your Gram.

Like a heaven full of "rich food for all peoples."

God is bigger in providing than your problems are in taking away.

"Taste and see, the Lord is good; blessed is the one who trusts him." (Psalm 34:8)

The feast is ready right now for those who believe! Please come!

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, 06/21/18, "Day of Praise" 

2 Timothy 3:16 - "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness" 

It's baseball season, so each day I might look online to see how the Atlanta Braves did in their game the night before. The easiest place for me to check is ajc.com, which is the Atlanta Journal Constitution newspaper website. The thing is that their website's lead story is always a tragic death. It's an opportunity to pray for someone, but it's always quite depressing, too. It's a reminder that the world, by its very nature, in its fallenness and brokenness and sinfulness will always lean toward putting stuff on us that saps our life and strength. 

But thank you, Jesus, that there's another place to go online or however you can get there that pours life and strength back into us. Yes, any way that you can access Holy Scripture is a great way to renew your life and strength. As God says in today's verse in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable." Indeed, all scripture adds to our life, in contrast to so much in the world that subtracts. 

So, as your day unfolds and you feel your strength and energy needing a boost, try opening a Bible or going to scripture online. And then read the Bible. As one deep radio voice says each day on the air, "Read the Bible; it's good for the soul." 

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, 06/20/18, "Day of Praise"

1 Corinthians 8:1 - "Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that 'all of us possess knowledge.' This 'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up."

Though my parents and all the preceding generations of their family grew up with very humble means, they all valued my sisters, my brother, and me acquiring as much education as possible. Summer reading clubs, good grades, and going to college were non-negotiable expectations for us kids, even though, to the best of my knowledge, only my late father went to college from our preceding generations. And my father always used to tell us how very fortunate he was to win a scholarship, or he himself would've never gone to college either. 

But as much as I thank God for the educational pursuits that my parents both provided and also supported me in pursuing, I am constantly reminded of God's word in 1 Corinthians 8:1, where we hear that "'knowledge' puffs up, but love builds up." I'll speak for myself in saying that it's very easy for us all to forget, especially when I'm sitting in my office surrounded by walls of floor to ceiling books, that as important as knowledge and book-learning are, there is nothing more important than the simple gospel message of Jesus.

The "gospel," which means the "good news," ultimately is best offered and explained in child-like language and simplicity. Simple Bible verses like "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son" from John 3:16, simple songs like "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so," and simple encouragements to others like "this must be hard, but God promises to love you and be with you" are all irreplaceable. No one can possibly understand why God loves them and how God loves them if they don't first understand that God loves them through His Son, Jesus Christ.

So many Christians never experience the unmatched joy of seeing someone else come to a life-changing trust in God's love because they're afraid they don't have enough knowledge of the Bible to say the right thing to someone.

But, Friends, I've yet to find a person, who was drowning in fear, anxiety, loneliness, isolation, grief, debt, or uncertainty, who was just dying to hear how much I know and how smart I am or you are. But, with rare exception, everyone I've ever called, hugged, listened to, spoken to on the street, worked with, visited in the place they were confined to, played ball with, talked to as they scanned my groceries, or simply passed for a moment as we walked somewhere in public, refused to smile when they heard me say, "Have a good day! Jesus loves you!" in those or other simple words.

To be sure, it's important that we want to know God more personally each day, and the way to learn of him is listening to and studying his word. But ultimately, any fear that you might have about not knowing enough to tell others about Jesus is overcome by God's simple reminder in today's Bible verse, namely, that God's way to truly build up somebody is not by impressing them with knowledge but by lovingly telling them that God loves them and that we know this in Jesus Christ!

Change the world today! Tell each person, starting in your home, that they're loved by God with an everlasting love!

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

Tues, 06/19/18, "Day of Praise"

Exodus 8:1 - Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'"

I think God is serious about our worshiping him. In Exodus, chapters 8-10 alone, God speaks seven times through Moses to tell Pharaoh, "This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me." In essence, God is emphasizing to us that all of his work is ultimately for two things: 1) to shape us in the original, perfect creation where we loved to worship God and 2) to set people free both from Pharaoh long ago and also from all the other distractions today so we love to worship God.

When God sent Jesus to die for us and set us free from the power of sin (which is guilt) and the power of death (which is fear), he might as well have said to guilt and fear, as in today's Bible verse, "Let my people go, so that they may worship me." (Exodus 8:1)

What is keeping you from worshiping God at least once a week? I know we like humor with this "Day of Praise" devotion, but a strong, successful businessman came up to me in tears one time and confessed that God had shown him how ultimately worthless was the "everybody-does-it" distraction that was keeping him from worshiping God at least weekly.

And here's another worship testimony from another person recently: 
"I didn't realize just how much I missed Wednesday night. The meeting, the fellowship, the study, the worship and message, the training, and then more fellowship -- God was with us and he is alive and showing his glory at [our church]. We just have to be there to experience what he is doing. I know God is with us in our everyday life, however, when we are at home, ball field, lake, movies, etc, our focus is not on Him, we get distracted from His glory. When we are with like-minded people, worshiping and studying his word, he blesses us abundantly, changing our mindset. The words tonight were from God and just what we needed to hear."

Friends, we were made to love to praise and worship the Lord, and God has blessings waiting for us when we do. So whether you worship together in a hotel room, or you visit a church where you're vacationing, or you go to your home church, please remember that you are free to do as you please because God set you free in Christ. But I pray that you'll follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and you'll use your freedom as God calls us to, namely, to worship and praise God, and in so doing, to receive immeasurable blessings from God!

Exodus 8:1 - Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'"

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

Mon, 06/18/18, "Day of Praise"

Romans 1:8 - "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world."

It's the spirit of faith that St. Paul was writing about in today's Bible verse when he says that "your faith is proclaimed in all the world." (Romans 1:8) In other words, when we're kind and gracious to one another, instead of dwelling on each other's shortcomings and errors, word gets around, maybe to all the world, and people are drawn to Christ because that's what people are, namely, people are drawn to a graciousness and kindness born out of faith in Jesus Christ.

And that's how I think of and, therefore, thank, you all! You are dear and encouraging friends. I am sincerely grateful to God for all of you! Have a great day, and know that you're making a difference in my life, as I'm sure you are with many, as you are kind and gracious to them too!

Romans 1:8 - "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world."

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, 06/15/18, "Day of Praise"

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."

What does God mean by "all your ways"? God has taught me, through his word, that "all my ways" can be summed up as follows. Knowing and trusting God through Jesus is the only "Way" (John 14:1-7) for us to live if we want to live abundantly now and forever. And then, within the overall Way of Jesus, there are two smaller "ways" that cover everything also, namely, the way of praising God and the way of thanking God.

For example, I remember a time when I had a huge meeting. Through the day, as God stopped me at various times to pray for the meeting and entrust it to him, I found myself either being quite calm and peaceful about it. Or I found myself becoming a little nervous and anxious about it. When I was calm and peaceful, I thanked God, for God alone can give peace (Galatians 5:22-23). And when I was a little nervous and anxious, I praised God as the One who alone can promise to give peace (Galatians 5:22-23) and then does! In other words, I was either thanking God for what he had done (giving peace). Or I was praising God for who He is and what He alone can and will do (giving peace).

Ya see, when we're in Jesus Christ through faith, in everything that comes upon us in the course of a day, there are only two possible ways to see it, namely, thank God for the good thing he's already done or praise God for the good thing that he will do for he is a good and gracious God all the time!

So, may we be found acknowledging the Lord in all our ways today! May we taste the Way that is the Life of Truth in God through Jesus Christ as we thank him for the good thing that we're tasting or as we praise him for the good thing that he'll surely bring about!

Trust him in these ways, and you'll see!

Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths."

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, 06/14/18, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 14:17-18 - "[The disciples] said to [Jesus], 'We have only five loaves here and two fish.' And he said, 'Bring them here to me.'"

In today's Bible verses, Jesus was teaching about 5,000 people in the middle of nowhere when he decided that the disciples should host a picnic for all those folks. Bottom line, there were a ton of people but basically no food, as indicated by the disciples saying, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."

But then Jesus responds with one of my all-time favorite lines in the Bible. Jesus says, "Bring them here to me." In essence, Jesus is saying, "Give me what you've got." And by implication, he's saying, "I will make sure that there's plenty to go around."

And Jesus did. Jesus made sure that there was plenty to go around.

For after giving Jesus their meager supply, the disciples distributed the food, fed the masses, and gathered up far more leftovers than the "five loaves and two fish" that they started with.

Ya see, Friends, here's the deal. Just like the disciples had far more people to serve than they could possibly serve, many of you have the same. Some of you have territories that one can barely drive in a year let alone serve all the families, children, or businesses within it. Some of you have multiple jobs where demands are coming from all directions as the work piles higher and higher. Some of you oversee large departments of your company so that the emails flow in an endless cycle of requests for feedback and coordination. Some of you work by day and go to school by night. And most of you have family that want you to feed them physically and emotionally at the end of a long hard day. Whew, it makes me tired just thinking about what y'all got going on in your lives.

You must be exhausted. You must say, "Lord, how can I possibly manage and serve and feed all these people?"

But, if you'll take a deep breath and listen, Jesus replies to each of us with what I pray will become one of your all-time favorite Bible verses too. Jesus says to you, as he said to the disciples of old, "Give me what you've got. And I will make sure that there's plenty to go around."

And Jesus will.

If you'll stop and take a deep breath at various moments through the day and give Jesus what you've got, he will personally and powerfully make sure that there's plenty to go around and cover all that you have to do.

Trust him, and you'll see!

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, 06/13/18, "Day of Praise"

Romans 8:28 - "And we know that God works through all things together for good, for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose."

God works through and orchestrates a whole lot of things, but surely we're not supposed to credit God with orchestrating all things. I mean, one time, did God orchestrate me locking my office keys in my car at the same time that I'd locked my car keys in my office? As Forrest Gump says, "Stupid is as stupid does." I would never put my stupid-key orchestration on the Lord. 

But the Lord (not luck, mind you) certainly gets credit for orchestrating that the only other person in the building at the late hour of my stupidity was one of only two people who had a key to my office so I could get the Bible study material I needed. 

And another time, God certainly gets credit for orchestrating the timing of me standing next to a hospital elevator at the exact time a church member exited the elevator because it required no less than three straight, separate incidents of people I didn't know, calling from behind me, asking me to come back down the hospital hall to talk and pray with them, which created the exact two-second window that was needed to bump into the church member at the elevator.

And another time, God certainly gets credit for orchestrating the timing of me bumping into the one person I really needed to see at a hospital as they, amongst thousands of people, happened to be walking out a wide, long corridor at the exact time as I was walking in the same way.

And another time, God certainly gets credit for orchestrating the timing of a church member, recently deceased Gene Murray, who said he'd had a dream about prison ministry and then awoke to read an appointed devotion that was on the exact verse that he'd preached from the Bible to the prison inmates in his dream. And, now years later, before his passing, Gene had ministered in Jefferson County jails in Birmingham, Alabama so that, through Gene, literally hundreds of inmates were brought closer than they were to God's saving grace in Christ. And some of those inmates weren't close at all to start with!

In sum, when God says through Paul "that God works through all things together for good" (Romans 8:28), God doesn't mean that he's only reacting to bad things that happen and hurt us or that he's reacting to stupid things like my stunt of locking up all my keys in different places. God is not just reactive.

God, being all-knowing and therefore knowing what's ahead of us, is proactively working out a plan to orchestrate blessings that will encourage us, even when we're touched by things that aren't so encouraging.

The one and only mighty and good God is greater than anything that will come your way today. And he is already orchestrating your blessings for today through those things. So believe it, and spread the word because, through faith in Jesus, we can 100% know and also see that it's true.

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

Tues, 06/12/18, "Day of Praise"

I myself enjoy the summer and the things about it that are different, and many of you do too. But whatever your schedule and wherever you may be, one thing never changes, namely, God made us to love to worship him. With that in mind, I pulled up this devotion that I wrote a couple years ago. 

Exodus 15:13 - "You have led in your steadfast love the people whom you have redeemed; you have guided them by your strength to your holy abode."

Psalm 5:7 - "But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you."

Psalm 138:2 - "I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word."

Do you worship God? Why? Or why not?

How often do you worship God? Why?

Is worshiping God a priority for you? Why? Or why not?

In today's Bible verses, there are two words in all three verses: 1) holy and 2) love. These two words are coupled with a set of words that point to the same thing: abode, house, and temple. By inspiring the use of all these words, here's what God is telling us.

God is saying that worshiping him regularly with others should be a priority for all of us.

Let's break down that statement. First, in the Bible, what is "worship"? Worship is "bending the knee." It is bowing humbly before God. It is kneeling before God and crying out for mercy because we've gone our own way. It is sitting under God's word and listening both to the way he's ordered creation and also to his counsel for living in the world, according to his order, instead of the way we'd order it. It is singing praise to God for who he is. It is singing thanks to God for his works of grace. Have you worshiped God lately with these elements of worship?

Second, in the Bible, what is worshiping "regularly with others"? Regularly is both daily, wherever you are, which can be by yourself, but also, weekly with others so that you're listening to God's word in a gathering of people. Do you make time to worship God regularly with others? In an ever-increasingly busy world, you will never find the time. Time must be carved out and set aside. 

Finally, in the Bible, why is worshiping regularly with others a "priority"? Very simply, as noted in today's Bible verses, worshiping regularly with others is a priority because of the two words in all three verses (holy and love) that are coupled with the set of words that point to the same thing: abode, house, and temple. "Holy" simply means "set apart and dedicated to God's purpose." And God's purpose is to give life. And God gives life by pouring out himself, which is the definition of love. And God pours out himself, in other words, God loves us, by pouring out his Living Word, who is Jesus Christ. 

So here's what all that means. If God isn't holy and doesn't carry out his purpose to give life by pouring out himself in love through his word, then we're dead. If God isn't pouring out life, then we're dead. But it also then stands to reason that if God pours out life through his word, but we're not receiving it, then we're dead that way too. This is why worship is a "priority." Worship is a priority because it's the way God has ordered creation for him to give life and for us to receive life.

Think about it.

(But don't just think about it; act on it, because ultimately what God is saying is simple. God is saying that worshiping him regularly with others should be a priority for all of us. After all, we were made by God to love to praise the Lord!)

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

Mon, 06/11/18, "Day of Praise"

Luke 6:38 - [Jesus said,] "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you."

I was pouring the twenty-ounce orange juice into my cup. It was turned totally upside down and had stopped flowing. But I continued to hold it and move the bottle up and down, while only drops of orange juice were now slowly dripping out of the bottle and into my cup. A friend of mine walked by with a chuckle and said, "I think you got it!"

I like to get my money's worth. Whether it's shampoo out of the bottle or salsa out of the pack or air freshener from the sprayer or cereal from the box or skin lotion from the pump, I like to get it all and get my money's worth. 

Fortunately, we don't need to worry about getting our money's worth with God. Even moreso, praise God for his goodness, and thank God for his grace that God wants to give us far more than we need. But as always, God's giving and our receiving of God's exceeding abundance is tied to faith. 

Our giving is an act of faith. That's what Jesus is telling us in today's verse. In the same way that seeking God is a way of receiving God and in the same way that obeying God is a way of trusting God, so too is giving to God and people a way of expecting God to refill our needs to overflowing. 

Jesus poured out his whole self, every drop of blood, so we could be both cleansed by him and also filled and refilled and refilled again and again to overflowing with his love. Jesus tells of a woman who gave her last two pennies to the poor, implying she trusted God to refill her needs to overflowing. Scripture also recounts a widow who shared her family's last earthly meal with Elijah, implying she trusted God to refill her needs to overflowing. We hear of Stephen sharing his last breath to tell of God's love to those who were stoning him, implying he trusted God to refill his needs to overflowing. And on and on and on, for it's true. Our giving is an act of faith, so that giving to God and God's people is a way of expecting God to refill our needs to overflowing.

Which is exactly what God promises to do.

That's why Jesus said, "Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you." (Luke 6:38)

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, 06/08/18, "Day of Praise"

Isaiah 61:10a - "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation."

I remember a time at church when our nursery staff supervisor was telling me how one of our mature youth was ushering for worship. This youth came back to the nursery at the appointed worship time to have the small children come into worship for a blessing. As it turned out, there was only one small child to bring into worship. However, that little one had experienced a "blowout" so they only had on a diaper but no outer clothes. The youth usher wasn't sure how to carry this basically unclothed little one into worship, so he held the child with two hands but at arms length with his face turned away as if he was carrying a stinking diaper to the trash. Picturing what the nursery supervisor described, I started laughing. 

And thinking.

At first, I thought of the sign posted outside a church nursery from 1 Corinthians 15:51, "Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." Get it? Nursery. Small kids. They won't all sleep. But they'll all need a diaper change. Of course, the Bible verse is talking about the Resurrection when Jesus comes again instead of a church nursery. But it made me chuckle.

But as I thought some more about the picture of the youth usher carrying the diapered-only little one, I thought of today's verse from Isaiah 61:10a, "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation."

In sum, friends, God will never leave you in the lurch, which means that God will never leave you abandoned in a difficult position without help. He'll always make sure you're "covered." He'll make sure you have the most important covering, namely, "the garments of salvation."

So, when you find yourself in a precarious position today or anywhere in the future, maybe you could first chuckle, thinking of a church youth usher holding a diapered-only baby at arms length as if the babe were a stinkin' diaper. And then you can rejoice, turning your heart to God's promise that he'll never leave you in the lurch, making sure that you (and all little ones and all who believe) are covered.

Yaaaaaay!

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, 06/07/18, "Day of Praise" 

Philippians 3:8-9 - "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith." 

On one short vacation recently (like every vacation) where we ate too much fast food, I was reminded of a time we were at Taco Bell, and this guy came in and presented this big sheet of coupons to the cashier. She calmly said to the guy, "You can't use those here." He replied, "But they sent 'em to me in the mail." She kindly said, "Hold on," as she went to get a manager. The manager came out, looked at the coupons, and kindly said, "I'm sorry, sir, you can't use those here." The man's now getting a little excited and says, "I don't understand. They sent these to me in the mail. Why can't I use them here?" The manager calmly replies, "I'm sorry, sir, but this is Taco Bell, and these coupons are for Steak 'n Shake next door." The man realizes how silly he's been looking, starts to humbly but enjoyably belly laugh, and walks out the door. 

Presenting Steak 'n Shake coupons at Taco Bell is what St. Paul is writing about in today's verses. We can present our own works and deeds and merits and goodness to God all day long, as if they're supposed to get us something in exchange. But God can only say, "I'm sorry, sir, you can't use those here." And we can argue all day how we've come to have these good deeds, and they should therefore count for something. But the only thing that's going to get us anything with God is the righteousness of Christ, which becomes ours through faith in Jesus. 

Oh, sure, it's very important for us to do good works and strive for excellence. But we do these things, not to get something from God, but instead we do them to thank God that we already have everything from God through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Thank you, Jesus! 

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

Genesis 3:8-9 - "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, 'Where are you?'"

So, don't you think that when "the man and his wife hid themselves" that the Lord God knew where they were? I mean the Lord God is the Lord God so he's all-knowing. So why did "the Lord God call to the man and say to him, 'Where are you?'"?

Simple. On the one hand, God was giving room for the man and woman to tell their story. And on the other hand, God was not backing them into a corner to make them feel trapped. In this way, God was inviting them to confess their wrongdoing in a way that would bring them back into freedom and fellowship with God.

When you know someone has done something wrong, how do you deal with them? It's easy for all of us, well, I'll speak for myself, it's easy for me to get on my high horse and get all upset and rant and rave and tell people what they did wrong and back them into a corner so they feel totally worn down and ashamed when I know they've done something wrong. (I'm not saying I do that; I'm saying that that would be so easy for me to do.)

However, God's way is not my way. From the beginning, as in today's verse, when God knows someone has done something wrong, God deals with us in a way that maximizes the possibility for restoring not just the person but also their dignity too. God invites us to tell our side of the story, which includes recognizing our error and asking for the forgiveness that God is eager to give so that our freedom and dignity can be restored.

We will all encounter mistakes today. May God help us to handle them as God does so that mistakes will be overcome with the wisdom and love of our Lord.

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

Tues, 06/05/18, "Day of Praise"

Matthew 27:26 - "Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified."

So, what would you have done? Ya know, if you had seen Barabbas on the street after his release? I mean, he was in prison for murder. But he was set free because of Jesus. So, what would you have done?

I have some friends in law enforcement. They're responsible for some people being in jail. They also often work traffic shifts, and sometimes they help traffic get in and out of large churches. Consistently, they speak of seeing someone pulling into or leaving church who they had helped to put into prison. Every policeman I know says that it warms their heart when they see someone whose life has been turned around by Jesus. 

But, the question is still out there: what would you do? Ya know, if you saw Barabbas on the street after his release? He was in prison for murder. But he was set free because of Jesus. So, what would you do? Would you, like my police friends, rejoice in seeing someone have their life turned around by Jesus? Or would you harbor ill feelings, and say that they should be locked up forever?

Now, what if I told you that "Barabbas" literally means "son of the Father" and more broadly means "child of God"? In other words, what if I told you that Barabbas represents all of us? Ya know, Barabbas represents the fact that all of us are set free, in spite of our sin, because of Jesus. Jesus bears the penalty of our sin so that we don't have to.

God tells us plainly, in the Bible, for example, in Luke 15, that God rejoices and angels rejoice and heaven rejoices when someone's life is turned around because of Jesus. Luke 15 has the parables of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Wayward or Prodigal Son. God rejoices when the lost are found, when the imprisoned are set free, and the wayward child comes home. 

So, though it broke God's heart to see his own son suffer, it warmed God's heart that Barabbas and every other child of God is set free because of Jesus. And that's what God would stir in us. When we see Barabbas or any other human being, because we all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, God would have us see each other like God does (and my police friends do). God would have us rejoice in the new beginnings that are made possible for us all both through the death of Jesus and also through our faith in Him and His love. 

Dear God, help us to see each other and all people through the eyes of your love. Amen!

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

Mon, 06/04/18, "Day of Praise"

Colossians 1:9-10 - "And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God."

I once saw a church sign that on two lines read, "Is your life pleasing to God?" And then on the next line, it said, "Zumba - Wednesday 7:30." You can do all sorts of things with the sequence on the sign, but when I first read it driving by, it sounded as if a Zumba exercise class was their suggestion for pleasing God. So I chuckled.

Setting all humor aside, today's verses from Colossians are amongst sixty or so Bible verses that tell us what does and does not please God about our lives. In sum, God is pleased with our lives when we walk with Him and therefore walk in His blessings.

Walking with God is not difficult. Walking with God means surrendering to the faithful work of God's Holy Spirit so that we:
1) have faith in Christ, (both in Him personally and in His saving work),
2) look for Christ, (for example, look for the many chances to serve him daily by serving people in love), and
3) listen for Christ (for example, daily Bible reading, prayer, and at least weekly worship).

The result of such a walk with God, according to today's verses, is that we are:
1) filled with Christ and, therefore, his spiritual wisdom and power,
2) increasing in the knowledge of God, and
3) bearing fruit in every good work.
In sum, we are blessed. The result of walking with God is that we are blessed in such a way that we become a blessing to others and a glory to God.

To bring it full circle, when, through faith in Him, we are a blessing to others and a glory to God, then God is pleased indeed.

Happy day!

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

Mark 4:8 - "And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

I remember the dad of an eighteen months old child being rightly excited to tell me how he and his wife had given their daughter a cracker. After a moment, this sweet little one put down the cracker and held out both hands in a way that plainly said, "Let's pray." Wow!

Friends, God is eager to see the seed of His word "growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold" as is recorded in today's verse from Mark 4:8.

Spread the seed of God's word, especially to those in your family, but also to others in your day. God is eager to bless and amaze all who do!

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