Lent Day 23: An Incredible Benefits Package

Gratitude. 

What a fine and important word for us to ponder today!

On this twenty-third lenten morning, before my feet hit the ground the Spirit seized my heart and doused it with the gracious conviction to rend twenty-three items from my ingratitude vault.


Lord Jesus, may Your Spirit eject from me:

1. The ire of impatience
2. The drift of murmuring 
3. The aptness of grumbling
4. The tendency to complain
5. The bent toward selfishness
6. The liability of insidious pride
7. The insolence of a sense of lack
8. The nonchalance of prayerlessness
9. The sweetness of self-righteousness
10. The habitual leaning toward impurity
11. The unwillingness to live a life of worship
12. The practice of spiritual adultery or idolatry
13. The blindness of negating the message of Christ 
14. The susceptibility to engage in slanderous speech
15. The readiness of rebellion to turn up to a fevered pitch
16. The disposition to live a life that denies the deity of Christ 
17. The propensity to base claims on my wants and preferences
18. The habit of harboring animosity, bitterness, and unforgiveness
19. The proclivity to walk in a manner that usurps the Lord's authority
20. The heart orientation to engage in spiritual laziness and lovelessness
21. The refusal to seek first and foremost God's Kingdom and righteousness
22. The inclination to live with no awareness of the expediency of Christ's return
23. The proneness to wander from the path and leave the God deserving of my love

Each item on the above list defies the opening of the twenty-third psalm, 

"The Lord is my Shepherd,

I shall not want."

Psalm 23:1

He is my Shepherd.

I need only be grateful.

I thank You, Father.

I thank You, Holy Spirit.

I thank You, Jesus.

I thank You, triune God.

As Lent continues and Easter fast approaches, might we take moment after moment to reflect upon gratefulness? Might there be reason upon reason for thankfulness to reside in our hearts this season? Might we be drawn to learn daily to mine the Word of God excavating untold benefits we have received from God and others in our lives?

Living in a fast-paced culture loaded with deadlines and demands, it does not take long for ingratitude to reign in our hearts. Before getting out of bed, we can be irritated with the too-short night, the alarm clock that dares to interrupt our reverie, or the insensitive text message received from a friend turned foe. By the middle of the day, it becomes harder to spot God’s goodness than the myriad problems unearthing negativity, depression, bitterness, and resentment from deep within us. From there, it is merely a step before we join Alexander in Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day—imprisoned by our self-entitled ingratitude.

Our precious, gracious, and compassionate Lord, desiring to free us from the shackles of such a fierce enemy, “has caused His wonders to be remembered” (Ps. 111:4) in order that we might give thanks to Him and worship Him.  In fact, “He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever . . . He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever—holy and awesome is His name” (Ps. 111:5, 9).  To such a God “belongs eternal praise” (Ps. 111:10b).

Might we turn to Him at this hour?

Lord, 

we implore You, 

show us how astounding our benefits package is in Christ. 

In You, dear Savior, 

we have everything we need for life and godliness. 

Guide our minds and hearts 

to recognize the specific blessings granted to us from You and others, 

especially when it is tempting to dwell upon what we seem to lack. 

Help us, O generous Lord,

 to see that You have provided 

love, mercy, salvation, redemption, and life for us. 

Remind us that we are fearfully and wonderfully created in Christ Jesus 

to do good works prepared in advance for us to do (Eph. 2:10). 

Thank You for preparing a place for us 

in Your mansions of glory. 

Thank You for health, food, clothing, 

shelter, family, relationships, income, talents, weather, transportation etc. 

Thank You for caring brothers and sisters 

who pray for us and encourage us daily. 

Thank You also for those we take for granted—

grocery stockers, cashiers at the store, bank tellers, 

custodians, policemen, 

construction workers, government officials, etc. 

Help us to renew this commitment daily, 

gratefully worshipping You 

and praying in all situations 

for the sake of Your Kingdom. 

In Jesus’ name, we pray. 

Amen!

Lent Day 22: Relying on the Savior

Friend, I thank you for continuing on this journey with me -- I need your accountability and encouragement.

Today, I give thanks to the Father for giving me the opportunity to roll out of bed, despite the fatigue that is still clinging to my body. 

I did not appreciate the sound of my alarm.
I did not look forward to getting ready for another trip to the office.
The last thing I wanted to tackle on this twenty-second lenten morning was writing.  

However, the Holy Spirit was gracious to convict my heart as I was reading Jonah 2:8

"Those who cling to worthless idols

turn away from God's love for them."

A worthless idol is belial.

Belial is a Hebrew word that means vile -- that is, without profit to the Lord. In other words, anything at all that is without profit to the Father is vile, wicked.

I broke down.

Tears streaked my cheeks.

It was clear to me that my clinging to sleep as an excuse to skip today's writing altogether is belial.

No. 

I will stand firm in Christ.

I will power through as much as I can.

Or, can I, really?

Again, the Holy Spirit generously and graciously led me to another passage in which are found four essential nuggets for my spiritual digestion. It is 2 Corinthians 1:21-22, which reads, 

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. 

He anointed us, 

set His seal of ownership on us, 

and put His Spirit in us as a deposit, 

guaranteeing what is to come.”

God makes us stand firm in Christ. Trusting the Father and heeding His call, our posture is regal, unwavering, solid, safe and secure from all alarms. This stance is possible only because the Holy Spirit of fire is teaching us, convicting us, wooing us, comforting us, and counseling us. It is possible because Christ is our righteousness, His blood paid the debt we could not pay, He is interceding to the Father on our behalf, He is the solid Rock upon which we stand. We can stand firm in Christ because the Father watches over us, He is the lifter of our heads, He surrounds us with favor as with a shield.

God anointed us. That means He has identified us, empowered us, equipped us with everything we need to accomplish the tasks He has set for us to do. This anointing is the crux of Creation: We were designed by God to image forth His glory. How so? We were designed in His image and likeness. Just like Christ is the exact representation of the Father and the radiance of God’s glory, we who believe in Christ are the exact representation of the Son and bring Him glory by being the light and the salt of the earth. Who else should best glorify Him if not the ones who recognize the Heartbeat of Heaven? Who else should best praise Him if not those who can truly relate to the cravings of human attention and recognition?

God set His seal of ownership on us. Our worth depends on the blessedness of His hand. We belong to Him. His Word speaks clearly to that effect—He is the Vine, we are the branches; He is the Shepherd, we are the sheep; He is the Father, we are the children. Whatever He has, we inherit even as prodigal children. Christ was crucified; our sins— past, present, and future—were also crucified with Him. He was raised to life again, that means we now live in Him. As Romans 14:8 says, “Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (NIV)

God deposited His Spirit in us. In Paul’s day, the word he chose was used in contracts, according to a commentator in the NIV Study Bible—“It was both the first installment on a loan and the guarantee of its complete payment.” In other words, God’s Spirit in us is the very ingredient that turns an otherwise tasteless meal into a succulent fare. Anything at all that we are able to do or experience spiritually is a result of His deposit in our hearts.

Wow!

In other words, everything that I experienced this morning is a result of Christ's work. 

He made me stand firm through my writing commitment.
He anointed me as I felt the fatigue, got myself ready, and considered skipping.
He set His seal of ownership on me, turning me into a fruitful branch on His tree.
He deposited His Spirit in me so that I can digest the prepared meal He had in store for me.

As you and I pray and serve, may we always rely on this Savior who forgives so completely, gives so generously, renews so utterly, and loves so sacrificially!

Lent Day 21: Our Responsibility

As I think of this walk with Christ on this twenty-first lenten morning, I wonder what it is exactly you and I are called to do. 

Does the Father require anything of us? 

Does the Holy Spirit expect something from us?

Does the Son assign and place a specific burden on us?

Does the Lord utilize a measuring stick for this thing we call following Christ?

My probing mind led me to Micah 6:6-8:

“With what shall I come before the Lord and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? 

To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

That is our responsibility.

Period.

If that be the case, then, why do we muddle the concept of walking with Christ with so many unnecessary rules and unhealthy expectations prescribed by the flesh? Might that be the catalyst fueling the disinterest in church generally evoked by this post-modern society—causing so many to despise or, at the very least, disrespect churchgoers?

This moral/ethical code to which God has called you and me is an impossible responsibility because, on our own, we cannot maintain such righteous living. 

We do not act justly.

We do not love mercy.

We do not walk humbly.

And, worse yet, we are ever more attempting to walk independently . . .

on our own 

in our own strength

through our own cleverness

for our very own pleasure and passion

without

Immanuel!

No. 

Walking independently does NOT work.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, works without God!

Therefore, in His unfathomable grace, Christ paved a way for us to fulfill our responsibility. He willingly, joyfully, lovingly paid the penalty for our sin and signed a peace treaty with us. His continual saving power perpetually causes us to be transformed in Christ so that we can perform deeds that broadcast God’s nature and fame for His glory (Eph. 2:10).

Our sole responsibility is to surrender to Christ:

to rejoice in His justice

to rejoice in His love for mercy

to rejoice in His commitment to humility

to rejoice in His continual quest for intimacy

Yes. Today is the day of surrender -- total, complete, absolute.

As you and I continue to surrender to Him, let us pray that we will respond obediently to His Spirit as He guides us to act justly (loving God first and treating others with love, compassion, fairness, gentleness, patience, self-control), to love mercy (acknowledging and expressing our gratitude to God and other benefactors in good and bad times, and extending grace and forgiveness to offenders), and to walk humbly with God (recognizing God’s sovereignty over all and putting others ahead of us in everything according to the Lord).

As you and I continue to surrender to Christ, let us pray that we will remember that Christ acts justly (when we fall short); Christ loves mercy (when we cling to bitterness and resentment); Christ walks humbly (when we erect walls of pride and entitlement); Christ walks in sync with the Father (when we reject intimacy with God). 

He has already done and granted everything we need for life and godliness.

We need only surrender, accept, and receive His righteousness.

What a delightful responsibility!

May we all embrace our responsibility with joy, deep love, and gratitude!

Lent Day 20: God's First Commandment

On this twentieth lenten morning, let us ponder the following verse:

"I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love;

I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them."

Hosea 11:4, NIV

"Savior, like a Shepherd, lead us

Much we need Thy tender care;

In Thy pleasant pastures feed us,

For our use Thy folds prepare."

-- Extracted from Savior, like a Shepherd Lead Us,

attributed to Dorothy A. Thrupp

Like sheep, we are dependent creatures. We need a Shepherd to love us, to protect and lead us to excellent pastures and clean water. Also like sheep, we respond best and most readily to sincere wooing and affectionate coaxing, gentleness and kindness. Such tenderness is a tangible way for the Father to express agape love to His children.

Love.

The Father loves us.                           The Spirit loves us.

The Son loves us.

Pure love.

Calvary's love.

The Father woos us to Himself with kindness, goodness, and forgiveness. He tethers us to His bosom with ties of love, mercy, compassion. When we, defiled and decrepit, approach His throne of grace, He faithfully and gently hoists us up, cleanses and renews us, and restores us to complete fellowship with Him. His faithful love will never fail us!

So, we happily chant,

"I love You, Lord. 

I love You so very much. 

There is none like You!"

Love.
Blissful love.

The above words are easily expressed to God when the music is played in the car on our way to work. They come out effortlessly when the whole congregation is singing with the worship team. They linger in our thoughts when the behavior of our kids could earn us a Parent of the Year award. They certainly dwell within us when our boats are floating above rivers of success, human recognition, health, and wealth.

Yet, what happens to those delicious expressions when bitterness, envy, distress, or enmity come calling? Do they flee the scene when we face circumstances or enticements bucking our own convictions to follow the Lord? Amidst tears and heartaches over losses and betrayals, do we readily voice them out to our heavenly Husbandman?

When our hearts come face to face with God’s mirror, the true spiritual condition of our inner selves is most definitely laid bare before the holiness of Yahweh. The fluorescent light emanating from the righteous and divine Word reveals that which is often hidden in the darkened nooks and crannies of our souls—good works, eloquent prayers, syrupy words masking a love relationship gone infertile and dry.

It is this barren love—spiritual infertility—that the Holy Spirit graciously seeks to convict our minds and hearts to rend and reject. After all, He was most sincerely displeased when Ananias and Sapphira pretended to possess a spiritual beauty that was not theirs (Acts 5:1-11). That is why our hearts are checked daily, our resolve tested continually, and our mind probed consistently. God is interested in the integrity and purity of our total love for Him. 

Graciously, learning to love God is the crux of the lifelong Lent to which we are called:

“Love the Lord your God 

with all your heart 

and with all your soul 

and with all your mind 

and with all your strength” 

(Mark 12:30, NIV).

Let us humbly request His assistance for this noble task:

Lord, Your Word offers grace to all who love You with an undying love. Yet, how can our love be undying when we persist in performing acts that lead to death either spiritually, relationally, physically, and even environmentally? Help us to love You with all that is within us and then, out of our love for You, help us to love others, too. We are comforted by Your grace that injects in us Your life, Your love, Your undying love so, in return, we can obey and love You forever. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen!

Lent Day 19: Designed and Defined by God

On this nineteenth lenten morning, I invite you to go to the Word with me:

“ . . . They chose Stephen, 

a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit . . . 

So the Word of God spread. 

The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, 

and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith. 

Now Stephen, 

a man full of God’s grace and power, 

did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 

Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue . . . 

These men began to argue with Stephen 

but they could not stand up against his wisdom 

or the Spirit by whom he spoke . . . 

All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, 

and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” 

Acts 6:5, 7-9, 15, NIV

Upon reading Acts 6, I simply could not stop pondering the implications of the name we bear as Christians. 

Like the seven men chosen by the Holy Spirit to minister to the widows of the early church, are we mindful that God has granted to us full access of His Spirit and wisdom in order that we might serve Him and serve His people more devotedly? One of these men, Stephen (in particular), stands out. He was designed and defined by God in the following terms: 

     -  a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit
     -  a man full of God’s grace and power
     -  a man who did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people

Since we, too, are designed and defined by God, might we examine ourselves in prayer this morning: 

Are we drawing from God’s well of wisdom?
Lord, I am not inclined to draw from Your well of wisdom. Thank You for convicting me to rend my independence and for drawing me to You by Your grace and mercy!

Are we actively serving the Lord and His people? 
Lord, I am not inclined to serve God and neighbor actively. Thank You for convicting me to rend my selfishness and for drawing me to You and Your bride by Your grace and mercy!

Are we full of faith and of the Holy Spirit?
Lord, I am not inclined to function on the full tank provided by the Holy Spirit and the precious faith You have deposited in me. Thank You for convicting me to rend my spiritual emptiness and for drawing me to have my cup filled by Your grace and mercy!

Does the Word of God spread because of us?
Lord, I am not inclined to live in a way that facilitates the spreading of Your Word in my circle of influence. Thank You for convicting me to rend my shame of You and for drawing me to live openly for You through Your grace and mercy!

Are there more devoted disciples of Christ because of our reliance upon the Holy Spirit?
Lord, I am not inclined to rely solely upon the Holy Spirit in my sharing of the gospel and other missionary endeavors. Thank You for convicting me to rend my self-effort and for drawing me to rely on Your grace and mercy!

Is obedience to the faith more noticeable in the clergy because of us?
Lord, I am not inclined to encourage and pray on behalf of the spiritual leaders You have placed in authority over me.  Thank You for convicting me to rend my prayerlessness and for drawing me to a life of encouragement by Your grace and mercy!

Are we full of God’s grace and power?
Lord, I am not inclined to believe that You have filled me with Your grace and power. Thank You for convicting me to rend my unbelief and for drawing me to the fullness of Christ by Your grace and mercy!

Are we doing “great wonders and miraculous signs” among the people—meaning, can people see things that are happening in us that only God’s presence can explain?
Lord, I am not inclined to live with enough transparency and vulnerability that would let others in on what You are doing in me. Thank You for convicting me to rend my life of secrecy and for drawing me to live out a genuine faith by Your grace and mercy!

Are we ready for the opposition we often face and will continue to face in the future?
Lord, I am not inclined to face any opposition whether now or in the future. Thank You for convicting me to rend my cowardice and for drawing me to the quiet boldness inherent in Your grace and mercy!

Are we aware of the fact that our opponents will not be able to stand up against God’s wisdom or the Spirit by whom we are called to speak?
Lord, I am not inclined to remember the power Your Spirit exercises over all opponents of the faith. Thank You for convicting me to rend my spiritual amnesia and for drawing me to a state of remembrance by Your grace and mercy!

Are we ready to extend grace for the slander, gossip, malice, and treachery that are sure to be directed at us? 
Lord, I am not inclined to extend grace to my offenders. Thank You for convicting me to rend my unforgiving and condemning spirit and for drawing me to the sweetness of Your grace and mercy!

Have we considered that we may be seized and mistreated on account of false witnesses?
Lord, I am not inclined to consider the cost of following You.  Thank You for convicting me to rend my apathy and for drawing me to offer costly sacrifices to You by Your grace and mercy! 

And . . . through it all, when others look at us intently, would they see a face akin to that of an angel?
Lord, I am not inclined to adorn my face with the purity and glow that comes from spending time with You in prayer and in the Word. Thank You for convicting me to rend my spiritual neglect and for drawing me to the light of Your face by Your grace and mercy!

Would that we thank God for the men and women throughout the ages who, like Stephen, have given their lives for the sake of the gospel. May we join their ranks in clinging to the truth that God has designed and defined us! And upon leaving this world, may our testimonies produce a harvest of new believers who will take our place in the great mission of spreading the gospel throughout the earth!