Lent 2015 Day 2: Psalm 139

Hello to you, friend!

You and I are alive. 
Great news!
You and I are still breathing.
What grace!
It is the day after Ash Wednesday.
How does that affect anything?

Perhaps you did or did not grow up in a tradition that promoted the observance of Lent. You may remember receiving or seeing or reading about ashes yesterday. In case you haven't, I invite you to read my reflections from yesterday entitled ashes. 

Gone are the ashes now. 
A shower took care of that (or, for some, the ashes were never there to begin with).

Gone is the worship gathering enabling you to feed on the wonder and fervor of fellow Christ-followers. Gone is the hype of "giving up" on social media. You are now alone, going about your day packed with mundane tasks. As the excitement of the beginning of Lent wanes, may I remind you that the Father's invitation still stands:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

. . . Give ear and come to me;

hear me, that your soul may live."

Isaiah 55:1, 3a

This morning, as you and I read God's invitation, I pray our hearts might be singularly pricked. May we acknowledge that the Father has everything we need:

-  living water for our thirsty souls

-  living bread for our famished hearts

-  living refreshment for our fainting spirits

And as we come to Him this Lent, lacking "money" or virtue of our own, may we sit at the banqueting table of His Word and feast upon Psalm 139 for the remaining days of this season of fasting and surrender!

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1  O Lord, You have searched me 

and You know me.

2  You know when I sit and when I rise;

You perceive my thoughts from afar.

3  You discern my going out and my lying down;

You are familiar with all my ways.

4  Before a word is on my tongue

You know it completely, O Lord.

5  You hem me in--behind and before;

You have laid Your hand upon me.

6  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7  Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Where can I flee from Your presence?

8  If I go up to the heavens, You are there;

If I make my bed in the depths, You are there.

9  If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10  even there Your hand will guide me,

Your right hand will hold me fast.

11  If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,"

12  even the darkness will not be dark to You;

the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.

13  For You created my inmost being;

You knit me together in my mother's womb.

14  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

15  My frame was not hidden from You

when I was made in the secret place.

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16  Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in Your book

before one of them came to be.

17  How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18  Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with You.

19  If only You would slay the wicked, O God!

Away from me, you blood-thirsty men!

20  They speak of You with evil intent;

Your adversaries misuse Your name.

21  Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord,

and abhor those who rise up against You?

22  I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24  See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.

What a vulnerable and open perspective!
What a wonderful opportunity to accept God's probing light!
What a beautiful psalm that speaks of the omnipresence and omniscience of the Father!

LORD, we repented in dust and ashes yesterday but we forget so easily . . . and repeat the same mistakes . . . over and over . . . again and again. But You know that; You knew it already before we even brought it up. We thank You so much for David whose inspired words of vulnerability stir our hearts with renewed passion and focus. O ever-present and all-knowing Father, the heart of Psalm 139 unveils the blessed intimacy available to us through You and in You -- no one will ever know us as well as You. You see the confusion and darkness of our hearts and You love us all the same.  Thank You for using this psalm in this season to point us to Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Amen!

Lent 2015 Day 1: Ashes

". . . I repent 
in dust and ashes."

Job 42:6, NIV

The first day of Lent 2015 is here, my friend!
Please join me on this journey. 

From time to time, you may find yourself unable or unwilling to bring these daily devotionals into contact with your busy eyes, your overly crowded mind, or your restless heart. 

Please know I get it.
This is exactly where I find myself today.

And for that reason, I am humbly suggesting there is much value in pausing and giving this journey a chance.  This trek longs to hearten one and all to become purposeful or intentional about turning our focus to the reality of Christ and the splendor of His Passion and Resurrection. 

And let me gently nudge you to not simply spectate. Please, participate. And as you do, I pray you and I will "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18)

It is all about Christ!

*******

Today is Ash Wednesday in the liturgical calendar. It marks the onset of the Lenten season, a period of preparation for the celebration of Easter. In certain traditions, ashes will be used and applied on the foreheads of myriad Christians today as a sign of mourning over sins and a gesture of humbling oneself in the sight of the Lord.

Traditionally, the ashes come from palm fronds or branches used by congregants on the Palm Sunday of the previous year. Those very palms are burned, consecrated, and collected as ashes for the first day of Lent. Christ-followers from religious traditions that celebrate Ash Wednesday usually leave ashes on their foreheads for the whole day as a genuine and vulnerable expression of their faith in the humble Christ.

Yet not all Christians agree with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. And even among those who do, not all Christians use ashes. Nonetheless, the ashes can point to an invitation Christ sends to all of His followers -- to come to Him in humble repentance because our best waving palms, our righteous acts, are nothing but filthy rags next to the radiance of His glory.

"All of us have become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

we all shrivel up like a leaf,

and like the wind our sins sweep us away."

Isaiah 64:6, NIV

What are our best waving palms?

A good Christian witness.
A meal for the hungry.
A good friendship.
A respectful tone.
A 'get well' card.
A gentle answer.
A patient response.
A faithful contribution.
A good singing rendition.
A joyful prayer in afflictions.

What a formidable portrait!

Yet it all comes crashing down as more and more people perpetuate, "You are the most thoughtful, best friend, most respectful, most patient . . . person that I know" and as our hearts grow more and more accustomed and reliant upon such recognition. 

How easily the very items we aim to surrender to the Father become instruments that puff us up! How quickly the Christian virtues we seek to practice turn into forceful gusts of wind that threaten to sweep us away!

We are ever learning yet never quite reaching true wisdom.
We are ever reading holy writings yet never quite living in holiness.
We are ever memorizing verses yet never quite retaining the lessons learned.
We are ever drawing from the well of grace yet never quite holding the water of freedom.

Indeed, in accumulating knowledge and religiosity, we become overly stuffed -- stuffed with too much pride, too much esteem, too much recognition, too much adulation, too much plunder . . . much too much of anything and everything. Human praise keeps us so full of the 'self' and so full of oozing sin that there is very little (if any) room left in the heart or mind for the worship of Christ.

In His mercy, the Holy Spirit reveals to us that accumulating does not equate retaining. In the economy of God's grace, we can only retain one thing and one thing only -- that is, the person of Christ Himself. And in order to retain Him, He graciously invites us to rend ourselves -- allowing Him to empty our hearts of all the odious filth that repels God's holiness. Our Savior is so pure that He will not share His place with any other entity. He wants to be the only occupant of our hearts.

Hence, Ash Wednesday reminds us that Jesus beckons us, "Come!"

-  Would you and I come to Jesus today "with all [our hearts], with fasting and weeping and mourning" (Joel 2:12) rending our hearts and not our garments? 
-  Would we present our 'waving palms' to Him, letting Him burn them, consecrate them, collect them, and place them not merely on our foreheads but on our very hearts? 
-  Would we come to Him as an act of willingness and readiness to receive the Holy Spirit's guidance and wisdom? 
-  Would we offer Him our fasting as an invitation for the Holy Spirit to sweep our hearts clean and make room for Christ, the sole occupant of our ever so lowly hearts? 
-  Would we come to Him not just during this lenten season but for the remainder of our lives on earth, exposing our hearts to Christ's X-radiating power to excise entangling sins and relying on His grace alone?

I invite you to join me in prayer.

Even coming to You, O Christ, is a gracious wonder. Had it not been for Your grace, we would not even know how to take the first step. Had it not been for Your cords of loving-kindness, we would instead be drowning in sinking sand and shame. Thank You for claiming and reclaiming our souls in Your mercy. O Lamb of God, we come to You with our 'waving palms' and areas of giftedness. Burn them before they forge their way into our hearts. Please, place the ashes on our hearts and prepare us to be Your living sanctuary for all to see. In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

Peace

Peace.

Where is peace?

The longer I focus on the concept of peace this year, the more convicted I become that peace in Christian living hinges on one decision—taking God at His Word.

He says, “I am the Lord, your God.”

You and I are invited to bow under His sovereignty.

He says, “If with all your heart you truly seek me, you shall every truly find me.”

We are invited to be lifelong, committed seekers of His heart, His ways, His holiness.

As we take God at His Word continually, the Holy Spirit empowers and compels us, believers, to be effective witnesses for the gospel, graciously telling and living out God's truth.

"Lord, You establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished You have done for us. O Lord, our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor." (Isaiah 26:12-13, NIV84)

Lord,

I, for one,

acknowledge that You have established peace for me

and that all I have achieved on this earth

has been the work of Your hands.

I also admit that other lords besides You

 have indeed ruled over me.

You know my heart.

You know deep down

there are other names that I insolently honor above Your own,

from time to time.

I confess my sin

and, by Your grace, repent of it.

Enlighten me more and more each day

that I may swim in the ocean of Your grace

and reject the folly of embracing pitiful lords.

Thank You for loving me and paying for my sin.

In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen!

I Am Willing

I crave peace.
I really, really do.

As I pray and meditate, I am learning to remember and accept this truth: whatever form my battle takes, it is NOT my deal.

Certainly not.
The battle, as it were, does not belong to me. It is God's deal -- all of it!

Consequently, I am learning to turn my tight fists into open hands that can receive untold blessings from the Giver. I am learning to turn my combative stance into a prayerful position -- glorifying and thanking God, and awaiting His generous hand. I am learning to turn my complaints into songs of praise.

Lord, I am willing.

I am willing to watch You perform.
I am willing to watch You deal with the battle.
I am willing to watch Your everlasting arms hard at work.

I am taking my hands off the wheel.
Learning to be still and know You are God.
I am removing myself from the seat of honor.
Learning to find my seat at the foot of the Cross.

Yes, Lord.
Grant me Your peace!

Need

I am grateful for the gift of need.

I need God.
I need people.
I need true love.

Without God, I am a car with no engine.
Without people, I am a piano with no pianist.
Without true love, I am a garden with no water.

I need God.
He is . . .

the breath my lungs crave
the wind my boat hungers for
the blood my veins imbibe and store

I need people.
They are . . .

the family that defines kinship
the friends who stick closer than family
the foes who send me reeling and looking for my divine anchor

I need true love.
It is . . .

the spouse who forgives yet challenges my crazy life and schedule
the fireproof bestie who hugs me, sits me down, and tells me about my messed up priorities
the amazing and sinless High Priest who challenges every single one of my flaws and failures yet defends me and intercedes on my behalf every second of every day

Thank You, O Christ, for showing me my need!

"Lord, I need You, O I need You

Every hour I need You

My one defense, my righteousness

O God, I need You."

Faith and Work

Life on this earth is akin to having a full-time job.

A full-time job requires you to go to work; earthly life demands that you live -- living is work. You clock in and clock out every work day; you wake up in the morning and go to bed at night every day of your life. You are forced to face both pleasant and unpleasant situations in the workplace; life on this earth is equally littered with both euphoric and depressing circumstances.

A full-time job pays you a salary with benefits supposedly befitting your rank and output. On this side of the grave, life hands you a paycheck of sorts -- a clear inventory of results and/or consequences emanating from past and present choices -- that carries with it a "benefits package" holding you hostage to . . .

fear
pride
shame
despair
loneliness

and any other emotion that keeps you wallowing in self-pity and misery.

Are you afraid of what's ahead?
Are you too prideful to admit your wrongs?
Are you ashamed of past and present choices?
Are you stuck in a pit of despair and despondency?
Are you feeling unloved, unappreciated, and unnoticed?

I write today with good news for you:

Earthly life (chronos or chronological time) is not all there is.
Abundant life (kairos or quality/divine time) exists and is offered to you.

Yes, abundant life is bought for you through Christ's death on that gruesome tree which affords you a benefits package of greatest worth -- hope, peace, freedom.

How does His death do that?
Christ's death offers you a job: to believe on the One the Father has sent (John 6:29).

If you accept this job offer, you will come to work for the Employer par excellence who defines faith and work as one. This job calls you to exercise faith in and obey the One the Father has sent through mundane and serious tasks, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, through disappointments and joys, in enmity and in friendship, in trials and triumphs.

In other words, it matters not what you're wired or designed or hired to do. You get to do it while believing in the Son. If it is singing, gardening, accounting, writing, or whatever, do it well while believing in Christ.

The benefits package of this job -- believing on Christ -- is wonderful. It grants you more than chronos; it provides true kairos, the abundant life that is eternal. And that is faith, a precious faith that energizes every bit of work you are called to do on this earth. Believing on Christ positionally removes the tight grip habitual sins seek to have on you; obeying Christ practically reminds you of the hope, freedom, and peace faith offers. Believing on the One the Father has sent says you don't have to go back to making decisions that keep you imprisoned to fear, pride, shame, despair, loneliness, and the like.

Would you go to work today, tomorrow, and every remaining day of your life?
Believe on Christ then through every conversation, interaction, and transaction.

We Welcome You, 2015!

We welcome you, 2015.

2014 having exited the ages, you come to us as a brand new year pregnant with new milestones, new challenges, new opportunities, new discoveries, new regrets, new successes, new failures, etc.

The Lord has spoken:

"For I am about to do something new. 

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? 

I will make a pathway through the wilderness. 

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland." 

Isaiah 43:19, NLT

As we begin partaking of your fares, dear 2015, we have much to consider:

1) We get to live prayerfully. Storms and crises will rock our boat. As they do, the words of this familiar hymn still remain true:

"What a Friend we have in Jesus

All our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer

Oh! What peace we often forfeit

Oh! What needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer."

2) We get to live gratefully. Offenses and insults will come our way; bad news will also be thrown into the mix. And sometimes, the rewards for our hard labor will come not in fat portions but in their meager versions. However, the will of God remains true:

"Give thanks in all circumstances, 

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 

1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV

3) We get to live humbly. Opportunities and achievements will tempt us to be proud, conceited, and entitled. Prestige and human praise will cajole our hearts to think of ourselves higher or better than others. The truth, however, resides in another approach:

"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 

James 4:6, NIV

4) We get to live openly. Self-centeredness and shame will flare and counsel us to hide behind masks of self-sufficiency or hypocrisy. True wisdom tells us:

"Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, 

but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy." 

Proverbs 28:13, NIV

Indeed, His mercy bids us to grow more loving, gracious, ethical, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, generous, modest, forgiving, temperate, vulnerable, honest, excited, passionate, restored, committed, laborious, encouraging, accountable, dependable . . .

. . . as well as more contrite, mocked, teary, grieved, broken, torn, sorrowful, lampooned, enduring, mistreated, persevering, battered, abandoned, attacked, rebuked, persecuted, ridiculed, rejected, slapped, afflicted, tried, tested, made to see hard things . . .

We get to partake of Christ's joys and sufferings even more in 2015 because the loving Father has graced us with one more invitation to rely solely on the HAND of Christ and not upon our own whims or preferences.

Come what may -- triumphs or trials, ups or downs, births or deaths, plenty or want, health or illness, friendship or enmity -- may 2015 teach us that the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases and that His mercies never come to an end; in fact, they are mercies renewed to us every morning the Lord awakens us to see!