Sloppy Living

(Guest devotion from my brother Chris)

Sloppy Living 

It won't come as a shocking revelation when I tell you that sloppy living has become the norm in our society and our world.  Traditional ideals and belief systems are seen as old fashioned, closed minded and judgmental.  Belief in moral absolutes is considered intolerant.  Live it up, enjoy the moment, do what feels good.  These are the modern day mantras.  Tales of Sodom and Gomorrah and the sin that ran rampant there used to turn my stomach; now this level of depravity is on parade everywhere, 24/7.  It's on TV and radio, in print, on the internet and in the words and actions of the world around us.  Has the world gotten worse?  Are we just hearing/seeing it more readily than before?  This is open to debate, but one thing is clear.  Sloppy living has plunked itself down front and center and doesn't appear to be going anywhere.  

God addresses sloppy living through Peter in 1 Peter 1:17. "You call out to God for help and He helps - He's a good Father that way.  But don't forget, he's also a responsible Father, and won't let you get by with sloppy living."

The world WILL continue to get worse, to embrace the darkness and sin and the devil, but this is NOT an excuse to lower our guard and loosen our standards.  This is a challenge that we must be up to.  Just as our parents would reward us when we made wise choices and hold us accountable when we did not, our Father in Heaven has also set clear expectations for us.  Sloppy living will not be tolerated.  We are called to serve.  We are called to live lives that set an example and lead others to the ONLY path to salvation from eternal torment.   Our words matter.  Our choices matter.  Our actions matter.  The world is watching and we need to show them the OPPOSITE of sloppy living.  We need to show them an alternative that leads them to ask "How can I have that?"

Dear Father, I know what is right, but choose what is wrong.  I know the power that my actions and words carry but so often say and do the things that I know are wrong.  Come to me now and in my moments of weakness every day between now and my last breath on this earth to help strengthen me, bolster me and make me fit for the battle ahead.  Precious Lord, I am nothing without you.  

Amen.

Adrift @ Sea

(Guest devotion from my brother Chris)

Adrift @ Sea

A lifelong boat and ocean enthusiast and a Naval Architect by training, Stephen Callahan had designed and built his boat, the Napoleon Solo, by hand.  He had sailed countless hours in races and competitions around the globe.  He designed and built boats for others, taught boat design and lived aboard boats of all kinds.  By nearly anyone’s measure, Mr. Callahan was an expert who had earned the right to be considered a competent and gifted pilot of the small/single passenger sea vehicles he loved so deeply. 

Yet all of these things aren’t what make Mr. Callahan famous.  His fame comes from a turn of events that caused him to be alone, adrift @ sea, for 76 days in the spring of 1982.  Following the sinking of his ship and armed with only a handful of items he’d rescued from his vessel, the Napoleon Solo, he floated alone on a life raft, using his extensive knowledge and experience to survive against all odds.   I do not know if Mr. Callahan is a man of faith, but can speculate based on a quote of his, describing the star filled night sky as “A view of Heaven from a seat in hell”.  What I do know is that our God works miracles, and in my opinion, Mr. Callahan’s survival story is one of them.

Our scriptural reference today is from James 1:5-8 which reads “If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father.  He loves to help.  You’ll get His help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.  Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.  People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves.  Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.”

 Mr. Callahan survived because he relied fully on the things he knew to be true.  Chaos, panic and absent minded worry were going to get him nowhere.  Instead, he developed a routine that he followed daily; exercise, navigation, prioritizing problems, making repairs, fishing for sustenance, improving systems and building up food and water stocks to weather any unforeseen emergencies that might arise. 

What God is telling us in the section of James that we read today is that we too must rely fully on what we know to be true, but not our earthly knowledge; the truth of Jesus and his complete and full forgiveness of our sins which purchased our salvation.  But it’s not as easy as just believing.  We need to build a daily habit of exercising our faith, navigating the challenges of life, prioritizing our problems, repairing the holes in our life as we identify them, taking care of our earthly and spiritual needs, improving what we can and planning for a future with Christ in Heaven.  This foundation will serve to support us when tough times come.  This specifically is what James speaks to today.  When troubles come, pray!  When you’re lost, pray!   When you’re sad, angry, confused, lonely etc… pray!  

But don’t JUST pray; Pray without worry.  Pray with diligent focus and confidence.  Don’t worry about your God’s ability to fulfill the prayer. 

In life, we will spend time adrift @ sea.  The wind whipped seas will toss us about.  We will feel as though our circumstances are out of control, and we hope this time is figurative and not literal, but the words of James, and the example of Mr. Callahan, serve to remind us that our God will never fail us.  Our anchor is the unshakable God.   In this we confidently pray.

=====================
God,
I'll drift away from You and your Word.
It's not a maybe - it's a for sure thing. 
I do it all the time.
But blow your foghorn and bring my compass back onto the true course.
Your ways, Your Way.
Amen.
=====================

Link to daily bible reading calendar (chronological - one chapter per day)

TIP: click the Bible Reference and then "more details" to get hyperlinks that open Bible Gateway

What's the big deal about Jesus?

Yes! YES! YESSSS!

Yes!
Not a non-commital, half-hearted, yes.

But a fist-pumping, bicep-flexing YES!
YESSS!

You know the feeling.
When it all comes together.
Everything works out right.

It's an instant day-brightener, an attitude-adjuster, a "the sun is shining now" moment.

YES!

In this world I tend to get cynical and beaten down.
YES moments are special things.
And the most special one is my YES with Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:20-22
Whatever God has promised gets stamped with the Yes of Jesus. In him, this is what we preach and pray, the great Amen, God’s Yes and our Yes together, gloriously evident. God affirms us, making us a sure thing in Christ, putting his Yes within us. By his Spirit he has stamped us with his eternal pledge—a sure beginning of what he is destined to complete.

May your day be peppered with YES moments today!

=====================
God,
You line my day with YES moments - only some of which I notice.
Bring them to my attention in your creation and the people you fill my life with.
Thank you for making me right with you through Jesus.
Yes, yes - so shall it be!
Amen.
=====================

Link to daily bible reading calendar (chronological - one chapter per day)

TIP: click the Bible Reference and then "more details" to get hyperlinks that open Bible Gateway

What's the big deal about Jesus?

Draw me a picture!

Draw me a picture!

I'm a visual learner - and so when I have to read a bunch of words or listen to someone on a conference call talk about something for...ever...

I just don't get it.

Draw me a picture.  Or let me draw a picture of what you're talking about and let me know if it is right.  And then I'll "get it".

That's why I enjoyed reading 1 Corinthians 15 today - because Paul is talking about me.
I'm the skeptic who asks - what does my "resurrection body" look like?  
Wait.  What?  How does this work?  

And in the use of word pictures and metaphor - God paints me a vivid picture of "what will I look like in heaven"?

1 Corinthians 15:35-41

35-38 Some skeptic is sure to ask, “Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this ‘resurrection body’ look like?” If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a “dead” seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don’t look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.

39-41 You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we’re only looking at pre-resurrection “seeds”—who can imagine what the resurrection “plants” will be like!

=====================
God,
Thank you for painting the picture of my resurrection through your Word.
I can't know or imagine what it will really be like - but you have guaranteed it will be AWESOME!
Help me plant more seeds for You.
Amen.
=====================
Link to daily bible reading calendar (chronological - one chapter per day)

TIP: click the Bible Reference and then "more details" to get hyperlinks that open Bible Gateway

What's the big deal about Jesus?

Keep it to yourself...

Does this happen to you?

I have an idea or thought.  And I just want to share it.
But because it doesn't "fit" (at that moment, in another person's opinion, etc.) I'm encouraged to "keep it to myself".

As children - we naturally share those thoughts - but as parents we unfortunately (and mostly unwittingly) give our kids the message to "keep it to yourself".
Not right now, honey.
This isn't a good time.

And that gets ingrained in our thinking.
We share less.
We keep it to ourself.
And in the end - that makes everyone's road a little more difficult.

God didn't plan it that way.
And he sure doesn't want it that way regarding his glorious message of salvation.

From 1 Corinthians 14:1-3
1-3 Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him. But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you’re letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you.

=====================
Lord,
Remind me that all good gifts come from you.
And the best one - the gift of life with you in heaven - is too good to "keep it to myself".
Help me share it everyday in any way.
Amen.
=====================
Link to daily bible reading calendar (chronological - one chapter per day)

TIP: click the Bible Reference and then "more details" to get hyperlinks that open Bible Gateway

What's the big deal about Jesus?

Special Assignment!

(Guest devotion from my brother Chris)
Special Assignment!

It was the proudest moment in my young life when Mrs. Munsch, my 3rd grade teacher, asked me to her desk to give me a special assignment.  She trusted me to show the other students "the ropes" as we began the school year.  In giving me this assignment, Mrs. Munsch made me feel special and important.  I was motivated to do my best for her because she had trusted me to take on this task.

What makes this all the more special was that this was the beginning of my second year in 3rd grade.  I'd been held back because I simply wasn't where the other students were.  This decision crushed me.  I felt stupid, slow, singled out.  Life wasn't fair.  I'd spent all of the time since my mother and father had informed me of their decision, pouting, sulking, worrying and dreading the first day of the next school year.  But one special assignment made all of the negative disappear.

Paul's opening words in 2 Timothy 1 are "I, Paul, am on special assignment for Christ, carrying out God's plan laid out in the Message of Life by Jesus."

Writing this devotion today I genuinely felt the pride and joy that had filled me up when my first leadership assignment was given to me many years ago.

I have to wonder though, why don't I wake up each day feeling that same pride and then some?  My God has worked the miracle of faith in my heart through the Holy Spirit.  My God has sacrificed his only Son and purchased my salvation, freeing me from the eternal punishment that is rightfully mine.  My God has given me the special assignment of proclaiming this to the world, in my actions and words.   Yet I so often approach this assignment as a chore, a task...work.  This assignment is more special than any other.  This assignment is to be at the core of who I am, what I'm about and what I do.

Today, our special assignment is the same as Paul's.  We are to proclaim the good news of Christ crucified to the world.

=====================
Dear Father God, I pray that you help me to find and appreciate the joy that comes from being entrusted with such an important special assignment.  Thank you for choosing me, empowering me and making me up to the task.

Amen
=====================
Link to daily bible reading calendar (chronological - one chapter per day)

TIP: click the Bible Reference and then "more details" to get hyperlinks that open Bible Gateway

What's the big deal about Jesus?

I can't see clearly now...

I get frustrated when I can't figure things out.  
When I can't see clearly and make out what's really there, what's really going on, and what to do about it.

It affects all areas of life - my work, my family, even my leisure!

That's when it's important to remember that I'm NOT SUPPOSED TO be able to figure things out.  

This is a sinful, messed-up world and it is a constant conundrum.

Paul reminds us of this in...

1 Corinthians 13:12-13

12 We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13 But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

The fog will clear and true 20/20 vision will be mine in heaven.  Not sooner.

In the meantime - trust, hope and love is more than enough to get me through!

=============================

Thank you God for giving me the prescription glasses of your Word.

Remind me where I "left my glasses" when I forget - and to put them on!

Only then do I see the clarity that is to come.

Amen.

=============================

Link to daily bible reading calendar (chronological - one chapter per day)

TIP: click the Bible Reference and then "more details" to get hyperlinks that open Bible Gateway

What's the big deal about Jesus?