Hope is a process...

Romans 5:3 "...we exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint..."

In my younger days I used to run 10K races regularly.  I use the word "run" loosely, for anyone who saw me would describe it differently.  Let's just say it was a faster pace than walking.  I remember my first race.  I saw all these athletes in their cool running gear stretching and warming up.  I asked myself what I was doing there.  I'm not in their class; I can't compete with them.  Then I remembered why I had entered in the first place.  I wanted to see if I could do it.  I wasn't competing with anyone but myself.  My goal: to finish the race.

I did finish the race, but it certainly wasn't easy.  There came a few points along the course where breathing became difficult, my legs ached, and I could easily have justified giving up.  But I didn't.  Something inside me wouldn't let me.  I had made a commitment and I was going to keep it. 

Here's what I learned from my 10K "career": After that first race, I never again doubted that I could complete the course.  My goal changed from finishing the race to trying to beat my previous time.  Persevering through the pain and doubts developed confidence (proven character) that gave me hope.

There have been times in my life when I have prayed for guidance, for direction, and God has clearly answered the prayer.  Then, having committed to follow His lead and acting upon it, I found the going a lot tougher than I had expected.  I began to doubt my decision, to second guess my understanding of God's plan.   I seriously considered quitting the "race".  Wise friends counseled me to keep going, and I did.  Looking back, I can see that God used those experiences, difficult as they were, to develop perseverance, confidence, and hope in me.  That wasn't my goal, but it was His.

Are you struggling today to keep moving forward?  Are you doubting God's leading?  Before you quit, ask yourself if you believe God opened the door and directed you on this course.  If He did, He will sustain you.  He will give you the resources to finish what you have started and along the way He will develop perseverance, confidence, and hope.

Lord, I would rather have an easy than a difficult road, but I know that's not how You work.  All I have to do is look at Jesus to see that.  Please keep me focused on You rather than on my problems.  Please confirm Your plan and give me the faith and strength to follow You.

Let's get better acquainted...

2 Peter 1:3  "...Seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence."

The more I get to know Jesus, the better I understand how to live.  Everything I need to know about living a life that is pleasing to God is tied to my relationship with His Son.  The word "knowledge" in the verse speaks of "experience" and "relationship". 

How do I get to know someone?  By spending time with him, conversing with him, doing things together.  That's just how I get better acquainted with Jesus.  The more time I spend with Him each day, listening and learning from His Word, and the more I seek to walk with Him throughout the day, the more intimate our relationship will become.

Lord, I do want to know you more.  I want to sense your presence throughout today.  Thank you that you desire the same thing.

"All I want is peace..."

2 Peter 1:2 "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and Jesus our Lord...."

Peace.  That's number one on nearly everyone's wish list for 1012.  Unfortunately, for most, it's just that... a wish.  True peace isn't the merely the absence of conflict, whether between nations or individuals.  It goes much deeper than that.  It is the settled knowledge and experience deep in your soul that all is right between you and God..  All other manifestations of peace flow from that.

Peter says peace is coupled with grace (God's grace) and it grows as we get to know Him better.  It becomes the basis for who we are and everything we do.  It increases our ability to trust God; it gives us the confidence to reach out of our comfort zone in serving Him.  Peace with God is the foundation and the motivation for my life. 

Lord Jesus, thank you for making peace with God a reality in my life.  Your sacrifice on my behalf has freed me from sin's shackles and has opened the way for me to serve you wholeheartedly.

Looking below the surface, beyond the obvious...

Galatians 6:15 "For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation; and those who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them..."

Sometimes I feel like a hypocrite.  One of the "mantras" in our school is, "It's what's inside that counts."  We teach our students that God looks past the external and examines our hearts.  Yet I find that no matter how hard I try, I still tend to react/respond to how a person speaks, acts, looks.  If we're honest, this is a struggle common to each of us, child or adult.

Have you noticed that often, when you take the time to delve below the surface, to get past the obvious, you are pleasantly surprised at what you find? Paul tells the Galatian Christians that the key for real  fellowship is not how a person looks, it is Whose he is.  Believers in Jesus come in all shapes, sizes, and appearances, but we all have one thing in common: we each are undeserving sinners saved by the mercy and grace of God.

Lord, please give me the grace and discernment to see You in those I encounter today.  Help me get beyond the obvious.

Net-mending (part 2)...

Galatians 6:3 "If anyone thinks you are something when you are nothing, you deceive yourself."

To illustrate what it is to be a true friend (neighbor), Jesus told the parable of the "Good Samaritan".  You know the story...the Jew had been set upon, beaten, robbed, left for dead.  Two religious leaders saw him and they each passed him by, thinking themselves too good, too important, or too busy to become involved.  In passing, I imagine them saying, "I'll pray for you."  Then one least expected comes upon the man, stops to help, and goes out of his way (and spends his money!) to provide for his care.

That's the picture that comes to mind with this verse.  God calls us to be "net-menders".  Net-mending is neither easy nor convenient.  It is tedious and sometimes costly.  It forces us out of our comfort zone, interrupts our schedule, takes us out of our way, requires us to sacrifice on behalf of our friend.  How much easier to gloss over the problem, promise to pray for him, and go on our way.  We have things to do, people to see, schedules to keep. And in so doing, the Bible says we deceive ourselves.

How do you see yourself?  If I am honest, I see myself as a forgiven-by-grace sinner, walking with Jesus, but vulnerable to transgression.  I walk with brothers in Christ towards Heaven and we help keep each other on the path.

Lord, thank you for the net-menders in my life, friends who watch out for me, who hold me accountable, who help me stay on the "narrow road".  Please help me to be a faithful friend and do the same for them.

Net-mending...(part 1)

Galatians 6:1 "Brothers, so if a man is taken by surprise in some trespass, you - the spiritual ones- restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, watching attentively yourselves, lest you also be tempted."

In one of his first encounters with his disciples, Jesus finds them doing maintenance work - fishermen mending their nets.  Nets were torn by various means, usually by being caught upon some unseen rock on the bottom of the lake.  Discovering and repairing the tears in their nets was vital to their business.  A small tear undiscovered soon became a gaping hole and rendered the net useless until major repairs were made.  It was much easier to carefully inspect the nets daily and mend the minor tears as they occurred.

The word "restore" is the same word translated "mend" in the Gospels.  What a vivid picture of what should be a normal process in our spiritual lives.  Each of us is occasionally caught by surprise by a situation, an unexpected encounter, a temptation we didn't expect.  The result?   A tiny tear in our net.  What do we need?  Someone to notice and help us mend it.

Paul says we are to be "net-menders" for each other.  In order for that to happen, we must allow "spiritual" people into our lives.  Each of us needs someone to whom we are accountable, someone we trust, someone with whom we can be transparent and vulnerable.  It is that person who will notice and call to our attention the little rip in our net and join us in mending it.

Lord, thank you for the "net-menders" in my life.  Thank you for their love, honesty, openness, and faithfulness.  Please guide me away from hidden rocks today.  Amen.

Who keeps your appointment book?

Galatians 6:10 "So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially to those who are of the household of faith."

How do you start your day?  What is your outlook?  Do you see it as a task list to be accomplished or as an adventure to enjoy?  One does not necessarily exclude the other, but your outlook will determine how much you enjoy it and how many people you can bless.

A key word in the verse is "opportunity".  It speaks of "Divine appointments".  I have a schedule to keep each day.  My Outlook Calendar is booked with people to see and things to accomplish.  However, God also has an appointment book for me that I don't see in advance.  It's preplanned, but not by me.  I find that when I start my day by acknowledging God's "Daytimer" and "giving Him permission" to insert His appointments into my schedule, my day becomes much more exciting and enjoyable.

These days, I try to view every encounter, every interruption as something arranged beforehand by the Holy Spirit.  It might be someone who pops his head in the door and asks, "Are you busy?", or someone with whom I stand in line at the grocery store.  It is a parent or student I greet at the beginning of the school day.  It's a person I pass on the sidewalk or for whom I open a door.  Every encounter brings with it the opportunity to bless someone.

Lord, as I go about my day today, please let it be more than just checking off tasks on my to-do list.  Please keep me sensitive to the appointments you have for me.  I can hardly wait!

Hanging in there is tough...

Galatians 6 :19 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at just the right time we shall reap a harvest, if we do not give up."

When I turned 40, I celebrated five years of being cancer-free by entering the Seal Beach Triathlon.  I was not (am not) a highly competitive athlete, but I had been running and biking regularly, and I swam the distance between the jetty and the pier a couple of times to make sure I could do it.  Race day came and I plunged into the ocean, being pummeled by the elbows and feet of 600 other competitors.  When I finally emerged from the waves, there wasn't much of a crowd...just me and a dozen or so others.  I transitioned to the bike for a 20K ride, passed a few people, and got to the starting line for the 10K run.  Dismounting from the bike, I nearly collapsed - my legs felt like spaghetti.  It took everything in me to put one foot in front of the other, but I finally settled into a pace that I felt I could maintain.  Eventually (2 hrs. 20 min.) I crossed the finish line, falling into the arms of my wife.  What kept me going?  Why didn't I just quit?  Two things: My wife was cheering me on and I wanted her to be proud of me; I had committed to do this and I wanted to prove to myself that I could.

These days, when occasionally I get really tired, and nothing I do seems to make a difference, it is easy to become discouraged, to want to "throw in the towel".  God says to "hang in there", not lose my grip, persist in doing good even when I don't see results.  At just the right time, He will lift us up (see 1 Pet 5:6), we will reap a harvest, we'll see what He has been doing through us all along (even when we didn't think anything was happening).  Think about it...Jesus hung in there (literally) for us.  I want to do the same for Him; I want to make Him proud.

Lord, I know You see the end from the beginning.  You know what You are accomplishing in and through me, even when I see no results.  Please help me to faithfully trust You today. 

Chipping away at my heart...

Mark 6:52 "They were greatly astonished for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their heart was hardened."

Each year my three brothers and I look forward to the last weekend in April.  It's Opening Day for trout fishing in the Sierras!  We drive to Bishop on Friday afternoon and get up early on Saturday, ready for an adventure.  Rather than fishing the overcrowded "low land" lakes, we drive up the mountain to Sabrina Lake (elevation: 9,136'), which almost always is covered with at least a foot of ice.  We use an auger to bore 6"diameter holes in the ice.  Once we break through, the water is cold, fresh, clear, and teeming with hungry Rainbow Trout just waiting for our worms.

Jesus' disciples had hearts that were just as hard as the Lake Sabrina ice.  Not hardened against God, like Pharoah, but insensitive, calloused to spiritual realities.  They were clueless as to Jesus' real identity and purpose.  They had just watched Him use a little boy's sack lunch to feed ten thousand people.  You would think that would prepare them for miracles to come, but it didn't.  They just didn't get it!  So when Jesus came to them later that stormy night walking on the water, and when He instantly stopped the gale-force winds, they were totally blown away.

It occurs to me that God is continually having to chip away at the hard places in my heart, places that I don't even realize exist.  I think my heart is soft and pliable, but He knows differently.  God keeps revealing new facets of Himself and in so doing, He breaks through another section of "ice", and my faith increases.  I get to know Him better.  It's a process that will last a lifetime.  It's called sanctification.  It's becoming conformed to the image of Christ.  The more pliable my heart, the more usable I am to the Holy Spirit.

Lord, please "tenderize" my heart today.  Let me see more of You.  Please use change me and use me today.

"Under new ownership"...

Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and delivered Himself up for me."

Occasionally I will walk into a familiar store and be greeted with a sign that proclaims, "Under new ownership".   Immediately I begin to look for changes, to see what's different than it was before.  Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised with the changes and sometimes I'm disappointed.

Scripture says that when we come to Christ, He hangs a similar sign on us.  The concept is that when I responded in faith to the Holy Spirit calling me to salvation, I died to my old way of thinking, responding, behaving.  Jesus has taken up residence in my heart in the person of the Holy Spirit, and my lifestyle is to reflect His ownership.

Just as I evaluate the owner of a business by the employees with whom I come in contact, so people I encounter will judge my Owner by what they see in me.  Do my attitudes, speech, and actions accurately reflect Jesus?  What will others think of Him by what they see in me?

Lord, please use me today to represent You well.  Let others see You clearly in me.  Amen.

Why do I keep failing the test?...

John 6:6 "And this He was saying to test him; for He Himself knew what He was intending to do."

Jesus had been teaching and healing in and around Capernaum, and the crowds kept growing and pressing on Him.  He and the disciples needed a break, so they got into a boat and went to the other side of the the Sea of Galilee for some "alone time".  Some of the people took note, and before long, a multitude had taken off on foot, hiking around the north end of the sea in search of the Miracle Worker.

Meanwhile, Jesus and the Twelve were relaxing on the hillside.  Jesus looked up, saw the approaching crowd, and pulled Philip aside to ask a question.  "Where are we going to buy food for these hungry people?"  He already knew that He would feed them with a paltry kid's meal.  He wanted Philip to ponder the question.  He was testing him to see if he would rely on Jesus or on his own resources.

Think about it...Philip and the eleven had seen water turned into wine, lepers cleansed, lame men walking.  Yet, he still focused on his own lack of resources rather than turning it over to the Son of God.  How could he be so blind?!!

Oops.  Philip and I have a lot in common.  Just like him, I fail that test regularly.  I find myself in situations beyond my control and, instead of giving way to Jesus, I fret about my lack of resources.  Like Philip, I, too, have seen the Miracle Worker in action; I've experienced His touch; I've seen His provision.  Yet, I still fall into the Devil's trap of self-sufficiency. 

Lord, thank you for being patient with me.  Thank you for providing, in spite of my slowness to trust You and acknowledge Your power.  Please help me to pass the test next time.

Do your roots go deep?...

Proverbs 12:3 "A man will not be established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will not be moved."

Some time back I decided to remove a yucca tree from our front garden.  It looked to be a relatively easy, straightforward Saturday morning job, a quick task list check mark.  Boy, was I mistaken!  I quickly cut away the trunk with a chainsaw, but I still had to remove the stump.  I dug and yanked, dug some more and pulled until my back ached.  I bent my steel pry bar!  Still it would not budge.  "I know...I'll drag it out with my truck!"  I attached a towing strap to the stump, secured the other end to my truck and slowly accelerated.  The strap went taught...and snapped!  I had no idea the roots of that yucca were so firmly established.

Lucifer (Satan) pridefully thought he could wrest God's kingdom from Him and, to this day,  thinks he will prevail.  Wrong.  The Bible is clear about the outcome: God wins!  Satan will end up in the Lake of Fire. But, he'll not be alone.  He is constantly trying to lure us away from the truth, to turn us from the Light.  He attacks relentlessly, chopping away, digging, trying to pull us from the truth.  Those whom he has deceived, who choose to follow his lies will share his fate. 

I want to be like that yucca.  Though the enemy hacks away at me and yanks with all his might, his attacks are futile because I am rooted deeply, firmly in the Truth - God's Word.  As Believers, we have the Holy Spirit, the Author of the Book, to teach us and lead us.  He uses God's Word in us to protect our hearts and minds and helps us discern Satan's deceptive schemes.  He uses Satan's attacks to produce Christ's character in us. 

Thank You, Holy Spirit, for living in me, for guiding me into Truth and protecting me from Satan's wiles.  Please help me to sink my roots deeper into the Word, that I might not be moved.

God's department of search and rescue...

2 Peter 2:9 "...the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials..."

In my role as a chaplain with our city's department of fire and rescue, I watch how diligently the firefighters train every day so that they will be ready when their help is needed.  They are passionate and focused on their mission and If I ever find myself in a precarious situation, in need of rescue, these are the guys I want to help me!  They're the best!

In the verses preceding v.9, Peter reminds his readers of several instances in the Old Testament where God dramatically rescued His people...people like Noah and Lot.  He goes on to say that if God was able to rescue them, He surely can and will do the same for us. 

God is the ultimate search and rescue expert.  His expertise, power, passion, and focus are limitless.  He is aware of our situations and needs.  He is ever present with us.  Not only does He know how to rescue us from trials, He knows when to rescue us so that the trials actually turn out to be blessings.  He uses trials for our benefit, for our growth.  Here's what Peter said about it in 1 Peter 5:10, "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."

Lord, I know that you are ready and able and willing, not only to rescue me from trials, but to actually use the trials for my benefit.  Thank you.  Please help me to remember this.  Amen.

Keeping the muck off...

Romans 16:19 "...I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent ("unmixed", "uncontaminated") in what is evil."

Last month some friends from church and I made our monthly trek to an area outside Tijuana, not far from Tecate, B.C.  We take food, toys, supplies to needy people who live in shanties alongside a railroad track, and to a local pastor.  It was a rainy day, and the wetter it got, the more mucky the adobe clay became.  At one point it nearly sucked the boot off my foot.  Once I got home, it took a good bit of scrubbing to clean off my boots and the floor mats of my truck.  The heavy rain on the way home cleaned the exterior pretty well. :-)

If we're to obey God's Word, we will get involved with our world so we can share the Gospel. In so doing, it is hard not to have the world's values, and philosophy rub off on us.  It sticks to us like that mucky Mexican clay.  How do I get rid of it?

In another passage, Paul tells us that we must be lights in the world (Phil 2:15), but we must keep our lens clean.  How do we do that?

The answer to both questions is clear: We need daily cleansing in the Word of God and prayer. (Ps 119:9, 11; 1 Jn 1:9)  I find that when I am consistent in my time with God's Word my perspective remains accurate.  When I am inconsistent, it becomes distorted.

Lord, please help me today to be in the world but not of it.  Let me be a clear light shining in the darkness. Amen

Goodness needs an outlet...

Romans 15:14 "...I am convinced that you are full of goodness, having been filled with all knowledge, and are able to admonish (remind) one another."

The Sea of Galilee is beautiful, healthy, swarming with sea life.  In contrast, the Dead Sea, located just a few miles south, has tremendously high levels of salinity and is virtually devoid of life.  They are both fed by the Jordan river.  The difference between them is that the Sea of Galilee has an outlet, whereas the Dead Sea does not.

We are similar.  Each of us as Believers has goodness.  It's a fruit of the Holy Spirit that He is constantly developing and nurturing in us (Gal 5:22).  We also have knowledge of God's Word.  How much we know varies from person to person, but we at least have sufficient knowledge to be useful.

It's not enough to be good and to know God's Word.  If there is no outlet, we will become stale and useless. We must let God use that goodness and knowledge to help each other.  We are responsible to keep each other on track, reminding one another of scriptural truth.  But we must be sure we are speaking from right motives (goodness) and with right content (knowledge).

Lord, please use me today to speak truth kindly, reflecting Your goodness.  Please bless someone through me today.

It's not nice to be stingy!

Romans 15:13 "No may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Peace.  Joy.  Hope...these three words adorn Christmas displays all around us.  They're on people's minds, hearts, and lips this time of year.  Unfortunately, what the world offers us is a counterfeit.  It's not the real thing.  We're told that if we get the right car, the right toy, the right gadget or gismo, the right person, we'll be happy and filled with peace and joy.  Wrong.

You and I have the greatest Christmas gift to offer to those who are searching, holding out their hands in anticipation or desperation.  My prayer today is that I (we) will be alert to the opportunities to share my joy, peace, and hope with someone who needs it.  After all, it's not nice to be stingy, especially at Christmas. :-)

You're not the boss of me!...

Romans 14:19 "So then let us pursue the things that lead to peace and the mutual building of of one another."

I have three younger brothers.  When we were growing up, my parents would occasionally leave me in charge while they went out for awhile.  I took my responsibility (and my temporary authority) seriously and tried to run a tight ship.  Inevitably, when they were corrected, one or all of them would retort, "You're not the boss of me!", which led to some interesting confrontations.  Needless to say, it didn't lead to peace.:-)

We have abundant freedoms in Christ; however, we are to exercise them responsibly.  The goal for us is not self-satisfaction but rather mutual edification.  Love isn't self- seeking, insisting on its own way (1 Cor 13:5), but is to look out for the interests of others (Phil 2:4). 

Insisting on my rights leads to confrontation and schism.  It doesn't promote unity and it doesn't bring a smile to God's face.  What if Jesus had insisted on His rights?!  Where would we be?  I don't even want to think about that alternative.

Lord, please help me to be sensitive to Your leading today, to be others-oriented rather than self-centered.  Let me be patient and long-suffering, seeking peace and seeking to build someone else up in the process. Amen.

What will it be...diligence or dallying?

Romans 14:12  "So then, each one of us shall give an account of himself to God."

It's not what you "expect", but what you "inspect" that happens.  I learned that lesson a long time ago.  Part of my role as a principal is to monitor and evaluate the job performance of my staff.  Each one has the resources and training to do his or her job, and each is accountable for how well they manage them.  Accountability is key to success.

God gives us great freedom,  resources, and opportunities for ministry, but also great responsibility.  We will one day stand before Jesus, accountable to our Savior for how we managed the time, talent, and gifts He provided for us.  I am by nature easy-going and I am still learning to be more task-oriented and diligent in doing things in a timely, orderly fashion.  It's much easier to wait until the last minute, but the last minute usually brings with it undue pressure and panic.

I want, more than anything, to stand before the Lord Jesus someday, see a big smile on His face, and hear the words, "Good job, I'm proud of you." 

Lord, please help me to be a wise, diligent steward today.  At the end of the day, let me feel the warmth of your approval. Amen.

Wake up!!

Romans 13:11 "...the hour has already come for you to wake up...because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.  The night is nearly over, the day is almost here"

The farther I get into the week, the less welcome the sound of the clock radio.  It doesn't matter that the music is Christian.  It's still an invasion of my sleep.  It was all I could do to get out of bed this morning   Once up, showered, shaved, and dressed, I was okay and ready for my daily time with the Lord.

The text in Romans goes on to say that we should put off the deeds of the night and put on the armor of light...clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus.  Unless I consciously do that, my days rush past, becoming a blur, with nothing noticeably accomplished that has eternal consequences. 

I so easily slip into my daily routine, oblivious to the needs, the opportunities to make a difference in someone's life.  I need to have a "last days" frame of mind. I want to gaze at the sky and wonder if this is the Day we'll see Jesus in the clouds.   I want to view every encounter as an opportunity for Jesus to touch someone. 

Lord, please help me to make every minute count today. Amen.