Tag Archives: daily walk

Minimum Wage

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We are a society that wants to be paid for what we do. Minimum wage keeps rising, yet many people will say they aren’t making what they feel they are worth. Very often as a young teacher, I felt underpaid. And let me tell you, I never turned down a raise.

We like to be recognized. One of the first things we teach our children is to say, “Thank you”. Showing gratitude is, and should be engrained in us all.

It feels good to be appreciated. It even encourages us to do more, work harder.

But Jesus warns us about expecting good things to happen for us just because we obey him. Does a master thank his servant for doing what a servant is expected to do? Jesus tells us our attitude should be humility.

Even after leading someone to the Savior, teaching a great Sunday School lesson, or taking food to a shut-in, we should say, “We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.” (Luke 17) We may serve God and still not be able to pay the bills, or still battle that disease, or never have that condo on the ocean or that BMW in the garage. But, dear one, God doesn’t owe us any of that.

If we call ourselves Christians expecting to reap rewards or to enjoy status as children of the King, we’re in it for the wrong reasons. We are servants. Let’s act like it. Let’s serve our Master out of gratitude and with joy just for the privilege of serving Him who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Let me be clear. There’s nothing minimum about serving the God of Creation. Our Master gives HIMSELF to us. Let that sink in. I think you’ll look for more and more ways to serve him just because you can.

Dear Master, I bow before you recognizing that I have nothing to offer you but myself. And I am humbled in knowing that’s all you ask of me. Show me how I can serve you today, not in order for you to bless me, but just because you deserve to be served. Here I am, Lord. I’m yours. And may you be glorified in all I do and say today.

100%

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People often say “Wouldn’t it have been amazing to live in Jesus’ day, to actually hear him speak and hang out with him?” I have thought so myself.

Then I read verses like Psalm 46:11 and I am reminded we who live this side of the cross have an even better reality “The LORD of Hosts is with us”! God, in all his power and majesty lives within my heart. I don’t have to travel to Jerusalem to have an audience with him. I exist in his presence!

I might not be able to shake his hand, but I can pour my heart out to him in the privacy of my room and know he hears. He’s with me in the car. Behind my desk. At the ballgame. He never leaves me. I have 100% of his attention 100% of the time. Now that is truly amazing!

I think if the disciples really understood this privilege, they wouldn’t have argued with him so often about his death. I think if I really understood the privilege, I wouldn’t doubt or question so often. I wouldn’t waste one second worrying or being fearful.

“Be still and know that I am God… The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge.” Psalm 46:10+11.

Dear God, Thank you, thank you for your Presence in my life, Thank you for walking with me, living within me, focusing your attention on me. Thank you for the intimate relationship I have with you through the blood of your dear Son. May my walk with you be intentional, lived out of a heart of gratitude for the very real privilege of having you with me..

Border Wars

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I have to admit I don’t know Middle-Eastern geography. I am not familiar with nations and cities on today’s maps, much less those in Old Testament times. So when Joshua is naming territories that were given to the Jews to fulfill God’s promise to Abraham, my eyes glaze over. Not only do I not know where these places are (or were), the names of these places are hard to pronounce.

What can God possibly say to me through this geography lesson?

One word kept repeating itself as I read Joshua 15 and 16 this morning: borders. The Jews were given the Promised Land, but it didn’t come without clear borders. Those borders were necessary to separate the people of God from everyone else. The Jews were to live inside the borders. The enemy’s influence was to stay on the other side of those borders.

Do we have borders as 21st Century children of God, living in the blessed Promised Land of fellowship with God? Let me share just a few borders God has laid on my heart:

Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul.

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Be holy as I am holy.

Resist the devil.

Flee youthful lusts.

Pray without ceasing and in everything give thanks.

Preach the Gospel.

Confess sin.

Present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God.

Study to show ourselves approved of God.

Now, none of these will earn us favor in God’s eye. None of these will buy our salvation. The privilege of living in the Promised Land is a gift of God, it’s ours by the grace of God, it was bought by the blood of Jesus, the only way to the Father. No, these borders can’t allow us to get around the cross. But living within these borders is amazing, like living in a land flowing with milk and honey.

These borders, like the borders Joshua spelled out for Israel, separate us from the rest of the world. It’s within these borders we find fellowship with God himself, life and peace, and help in our time of need.

But there is a war on our soul. Satan wants to tear down the walls, blur the line, enlarge our borders by telling us lies like: God wouldn’t send a good person to hell, there are multiple paths to God, there are big sins and little sins and little sins are overlooked by God, you are ok just the way you are, laughing at sin on TV or neglecting study of God’s Word or keeping your faith to yourself is no biggie, intelligent men and women reject the Bible as inerrant.

I am challenged to guard my borders. The walls around my heart can’t be too high, my resolve can’t be too strong, my dependance on God can’t be too complete. I want to live within the borders God has given us in his Word. There is nothing outside those lines that can compare.

Father in Heaven, thank you for lovingly identifying the borders. Thank you for providing peace and joy and comfort and blessing to those of us who walk inside those borders. Forgive us when we fall for Satan’s tactics to blur the lines, to step outside your perfect will. I pray for your people today. May we let you identify the borders as we read and study your Word, and may we be willing to fight to keep those borders secure. This is war. You give us the victory. Thank you. 

Show and Tell

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The story of Rahab in Joshua 2, and that of the demon possessed Gadarene in Luke 8 have parallel messages. That message is: evangelism.

Rahab wasn’t a Jew but she believed in God because of what she had seen God do in Israel. “…the Lord your God, He is God…” She was told to place a red ribbon on her window, then go and tell her loved ones how they could be saved.

Jesus told the man whom he healed of demon possession to go home and tell people what God had done for him. The man did, and many believed Jesus as a result.

That’s what it means to be “chosen”. God didn’t choose Israel to separate them from the rest of us for any reason other than to reveal God to a lost world. And as Christians, we are chosen to do the same. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel…

So how am I doing? Do people see Jesus in me? Do they recognize God’s hand in my life? Do I live it? Talk about it?

Rahab put a scarlet thread on her window to identify herself as a believer. What is it that identifies me as a child of God? Is it visible? Is it beautiful?

May it be so.

God, I pray for your children today. May we be those vessels through which you can draw all people to yourself. May we realize that each of us has a commission… to share the Good News of Jesus with our world. May we show them what it looks like to be forgiven, to have you present in our lives every minute of every day. May we tell them, speak with them, use Scripture to share your plan of salvation. And may the result be the same as we read about in Joshua and Luke, that our loved ones and neighbors will be saved because of our testimony.

Twelve

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I have a special place in my heart for twelve-year-olds. I spent 25 of my 37 years in public education in the middle school. I loved being a part of the chick struggling to get out of the shell, that awkward child/adult, learning how to fly on its own.

So when I read the passage in Luke 2 this morning about Jesus at the age of twelve, I felt drawn to this youngster. Fully human, he must have looked like any middle-schooler walking down the halls of my school, tripping over growing feet, with the energy of a child, wanting the sophistication of an adult. And like most twelve-year-olds, he assumed his parents knew what he was doing.

Let me be clear, Jesus did nothing wrong. There was no disobedience or blatant disregard of his parents wishes. Let’s face it. Parents leave their kids behind all the time, thinking the other parent has the child with him or her. Ask my sister and my brother-in-law. They left their infant son at church – twice – thinking the other had my nephew with them. Thank goodness they live only a couple miles from the church, unlike Mary and Joseph!

What I love about the pre-teen Jesus is his eagerness to talk about spiritual things, to read and discuss Scripture at such a young age. He was learning… and teaching. It’s the same relationship I had with so many twelve-year-olds over the years. Me helping them to learn at the same time they were teaching me. Yes, I love this boy Jesus.

I am reminded that our youth need to be grounded in Scripture, too. They need to be spending time in Bible believing churches where Jesus is proclaimed the only way to the Father. Jesus was not too young to have a heart eager to grow spiritually. Neither are our children.

I’m praying for twelve-year-olds today.

Watch!

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Jesus is coming again! Jesus, Son of God and Son of Man who died, yet lives, is going to come back with the sound of a trumpet and everyone will see it happen. The dead will rise, we who know him will meet him in the air. Oh what a day that will be. I’ll see Jesus face to face in all his glory.

The circumstances surrounding this event and what happens after is cause for great debate. But I don’t care. Trying to place signs on a timeline, or figuring out if I will be spared a great tribulation, or if Jesus will set up a material kingdom on planet Earth doesn’t matter to me.

Sure, I have an opinion based on what I read in the Bible. Others have a different opinion reading the same Bible. But my opinion – or yours- is insignificant.

What is significant is my heart’s condition before a holy God. What is significant is my witness, my love for my neighbors, my light in a dark world. The question is not will I sit in judgment over my fellow man, but will I wear Jesus’ righteousness as I personally stand before God? It’s not the size of the crown on my head, but the grace of God that allows me to be in his presence.

Jesus says no one knows when he will return. (Mark 13) All we need to know is that it is going to happen. And all Jesus wants us to do is watch. And pray. He’ll take care of the details.

And that’s ok with me.

Dear Jesus, Thank you for the assurance that you are coming again to claim me once and for all. Forgive us for the lines that are drawn because of insignificant opinions about “the end times.” May we not neglect the more important thing, life right now, our relationship with you today, and what we do in Jesus’ name to lead another lost soul to the Savior. May we all rejoice in your promise to return, may we be faithful workers, watching and praying until that trumpet sounds.

A Hometown Prophet

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The people in Jesus’ hometown knew all about him. They knew his parents Mary and Joseph, and many of them probably sat on furniture made by Joseph, perhaps even made by Joseph’s apprentice, Jesus, before Jesus began his ministry at the age of 30.

The people knew Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Maybe some of them played on the same soccer teams or sat in the same math class in school with Jesus and his siblings. They probably had a little pride in the fame this small town boy had earned, and were quick to tell tales about him:

I remember Jesus when he was a teenager…

My son used to go fishing with Jesus when they were kids…

Sure I know Jesus. Why, once when Jesus was just a boy…

Yes, these people knew all there was to know about Jesus. But Mark 6 tells us they didn’t believe in him. They didn’t accept his teaching. They couldn’t see beyond the young man who grew up down the street, and because of that, Jesus couldn’t do great things among them. Knowing about Jesus wasn’t enough.

There is a difference between knowing about Jesus and allowing him to change us. We can read the Bible every day, but unless we take in the Words and obey them, Jesus can’t do great things in our lives. Growing up going to church doesn’t guarantee you know the LORD.

I believe Jesus wanted to pour himself out on the people in his hometown. He loved them. He grew up with them. He knew them like they knew him. But because of their unbelief, he walked away without showering them with the blessings that could have been their’s.

Don’t let that happen to you. My prayer is that each of us will give ourselves to the LORD, that we will repent of sins and allow him in.

Then watch what happens. The God of Creation, the Messiah, The Great I AM wants to do great things in your life. And He will, if you know Him.

Stink

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The Israelites heard the instructions from God: Bread will rain down from heaven in the morning. Go and collect what you need for today. Fix it however you want, but eat it all or throw away the leftovers. DO NOT STORE ANY OF IT OVER NIGHT. (Exodus 16)

Clear instructions, easily followed. Yet some decided for themselves that saving just a little until morning couldn’t hurt. They were wrong. The next morning they were greeted with crawling worms and a repulsive smell.

I wonder if some of us aren’t still holding on to some act of disobedience, believing it won’t stink in the morning. I mean, hasn’t God spelled out plainly what is expected of his children? Doesn’t Jesus say in no uncertain terms that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one goes to the Father except through him? Doesn’t God tell us to be holy, set apart, fleeing youthful lust, loving our neighbor, treating everyone honestly? Don’t we know that to lie, to commit adultery even in our hearts, to hate are sins? Doesn’t Scripture plainly tell us what sin is, that we all sin, and that forgiveness is required and freely given only by grace through the blood of Jesus?

Then why do we think one little lie is no big deal? Why do we think a peek at pornography doesn’t hurt anyone? How can we hold a grudge, gossip, treat someone unfairly, and think that doesn’t stink to God?

Can we believe all religions have merit, that all lifestyles are acceptable if the people practicing these things are nice people? Surely God didn’t really mean good people might be going to hell, right?

Well, what does Scripture say? Either it’s true, or it’s not. There can be no, “what if’s”. The lesson here is, if we hold on to sin… even a little… we’ll wake up in the morning with an odor that disgusts our Lord, perhaps like a wet dog sprayed by a skunk. Like manna the day after, we’ll stink, plain and simple.

I want to be a fragrance that pleases my Savior. I want my life to be lived under the blood of Jesus, praying, sharing the Gospel, making choices that please and honor him. May I be quick to recognize sin and confess it, may I never hold on to what I might think is no big deal if Scripture says it is.

I guess I would like to challenge us all to check our stink.

Forgive

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Jesus told us we should forgive as we have been forgiven. Yet Peter asked him how many times was he required to forgive someone who wronged him. Seven?

I mean, seven sound generous if that person continues to do things that hurt you. Jesus answered: No. Not seven. Seventy times seven. (Matt 18)

In other words, there should be no limit. Forgive as God forgives. I, for one, am thankful God didn’t reach his limit after the first seven times I did something that required his forgiveness.

Having an unforgiving heart, holding a grudge, wanting revenge, are feelings that destroy. I used to tell my students I’m too lazy to carry a grudge because it takes too much effort. And the longer you carry it, the heavier it gets.

To carry a grudge you have to feed it. You’ve got to think about that person who wronged you. You’ve got to keep replaying the memory of what they did. You find yourself talking about them. Or you purposefully ignore them. You plan your actions against them or spend time dreaming about a building falling on them.

The thing about unforgiveness is, it needs fed to stay alive. But the more you feed it, the bigger and angrier it becomes, and the harder it is to carry. Jesus knew that, and wants better for all of us.

Now don’t misunderstand. Forgiveness isn’t the same as permission. If you are in an abusive or unhealthy relationship, you need to take action. Get to safety. Report the abuse. Find other friends. Apply for another job.  Don’t just stand there and allow the abuse to continue.

Then after you have walked away, forgive. But, you say, he assaulted my child, she stole my husband, he abuses me verbally, she talks about me behind my back. He doesn’t deserve my forgiveness.

Forgive.

You tell me I don’t understand, that it’s easy for me to say because I haven’t experienced what you’ve experienced. But, my friend. I’m not the one telling you to forgive. Jesus is.

Forgive.

Forgiveness isn’t the same as permission. And it’s not the same as allowing the evil to continue. What it is is a turning over to God that which hurts you. It’s trusting him to work things out for your good and his glory.

If you don’t forgive, you allow that person who hurt you to continue to hurt you. You do that. You give them control over you.

Forgive.

But, you say, she’s never asked me to forgive her.

Forgive.

Forgiveness isn’t only about the person who wronged you. It’s about you. It’s about your happiness, your health, your well-being. I personally think many emotional problems people face today have an element of unforgivness in them.

God wants us to walk with him in joy. He wants a clear path between us and him. Don’t let the actions of anyone keep you from that sweet fellowship.

Forgive.

God forgave you. Pass it on.

A Grieving Father

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My mom died in 1996, but I can still remember how hard it was to watch my father’s grief. He was lost without her. I remember making the 60 mile trip every weekend to be with him, just to sit with him, take a ride in the car with him, watch an old movie with him, just to do what I could to help ease the burden of his grief. It’s not that I wasn’t grieving. I was. But somehow his grief looked different than mine.

When my sister lost her son in an automobile accident, watching her grief was, and is hard. There is a sadness in her smile, a tear in her laughter. And as someone who loves her, her grief breaks my heart. Watching someone you love go through tremendous grief has to effect you, too, doesn’t it?

So when I was reading in Genesis 37 this morning about Jacob’s grief over his son Joseph’s supposed death, I thought of Dad and Peggy. I could almost picture the look on Jacob’s face in the days and weeks following the horrible news because I could picture their look.

Then I found myself getting a little angry at Joseph’s brothers. How could those ten men watch their father’s grief over losing Joseph, when any one of them could have stepped up and told the truth? They had it within their power to relieve Jacob’s grief. And they did nothing. Jacob would have paid any price to buy Joseph’s freedom from slavery. Couldn’t just one of the ten of them care enough for their father to do what could be done to bring their brother back?

Maybe the brothers really did hate Joseph. But didn’t they love their dad?

Then it hit me. My Heavenly Father is grieving over his own lost children. His heart is broken when any of his children deny him, or ignore him. He agonizes over those who have yet to hear of Jesus. Every sin committed against my Heavenly Father is like a knife in the heart.

Couldn’t just one of us who are a part of his household, his family, care enough about our Father to do what can be done to relieve our Father’s grief? God will pay anything… he’s paid with his life… to buy his children out of slavery to sin.

Witnessing to a lost friend isn’t just about that friend. It’s also about our grieving Heavenly Father’s agony over our lost friend. I have to ask myself if I’m ok, knowing my Father grieves, and doing nothing about it. Can I love my Father and still be ok if he is grieving?

We Christians are in the same place Joseph’s brothers were in. We know the truth. Maybe it’s time we stepped up and did something about it.

Dear Heavenly Father, picturing you grieving over unsaved people breaks my heart. I love you. I want to picture you with a smile on your face, not tears streaming down your cheeks. What can I do to bring that smile back? Do you want me to talk to my neighbor today? Do you want me to call that person you’ve laid on my heart? Do you want me to introduce you to the waitress at the restaurant, my hair dresser, my child’s teacher? May I never be ok with the fact that you are grieving. May you find me a faithful daughter, sharing your Truth, and bringing a smile to your face. May I never be satisfied with just saying, I love you. Help me to show you how much I love you today by bringing one of your lost children home.