You Are Dearly Loved
The Hug by Chris Hopkins
I am in a very odd place right now, Father. I cannot remember the last time that I was looking ahead to Thanksgiving Day and was not totally exhausted already and knowing that that was going to be my only day of rest. This year for Thanksgiving I am so grateful for the new opportunities that You have given me. May I never take them for granted and may I always give them the utmost best that I have. Amen.
Luke 3:21-22 (<<click to read the passage)
One would think it would not be the case but some people just can’t take a compliment. They can’t take praise. I know someone who in their short life has been driven so low that it literally makes them uncomfortable to hear encouraging words such as that. I attempted it once a little while back and they got away from me as quickly as they could.
I don’t believe that I have ever been in that position myself but I can see where it would be an easy place to find yourself, especially in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He is holy. He is absolutely perfect. …I…am not…
Reading through this passage again the Father’s words to His “dearly loved Son” grab my heart.
“…you bring me great joy.” (NLT) “…in You I am well-pleased and delighted!” (AMP)
Stop a moment…right where you are…can you hear the Father saying those words to you? I realize that we are nowhere near the person that Jesus was but also, I must stress that we must realize that that is truly how God sees us!
The Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:30 puts forth a great truth. (Read it through from the New Living Translation, then from the Amplified Bible)
God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. (NLT)
But it is from Him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God [revealing His plan of salvation], and righteousness [making us acceptable to God], and sanctification [making us holy and setting us apart for God], and redemption [providing our ransom from the penalty for sin]… (AMP)
Because of Jesus, and what He has done for us, we, too, can bring our Father “great joy”. He can be “well-pleased and delighted” in us, too!
Don’t run because of who you see yourself being! Allow Him to embrace you. Allow Him to praise you. Allow Him to love you. You are dearly loved, no doubt about it!
Nov 25th, 2019, Mon, 8:39 pm
A Vessel
Father, as I come before You this evening, I am in awe of what You do! Amongst the masses of humanity, I am one relatively insignificant individual. I have value to some of those that I come in contact with on a regular basis but that is pretty much it. I know I am cherished in Your eyes – and that is awesome! – but that You choose to use me as a vessel to communicate Your word to Your people, and for that matter to those who have yet to become people of faith, I again am awestruck! You take the little I have to offer and, as the offering of the boy with five loaves and two fish (John 6:1-14), You multiply it exponentially! You bless it and You – and You alone – bring fruit from the seed that is sown. I don’t really understand how You do but I beg that You will never stop! Use me – for I know because You have shown me – that I am more than useless. In Your kingdom, I have great value because I yield myself to You. I give all that I am to You – my past, my present, and my future. I would pray that I would heed Your guiding voice. I would pray that when I hear that voice of direction that I would then act and not delay. I pray that You would keep me from being a stagnant participant as a minister in Your Kingdom. I would also pray that those to whom I minister, would realize that they are ministers too! That they too would take seriously the call You place upon their lives. That they would come to a full realization of what Peter says, “…for you are a chosen people. You are [a royal priesthood], a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
Lord Jesus, this went much farther than I had anticipated but my heart is full and I want to bring attention to Your holy name! You are the reason that I am who I am! Where would I be were it not for You? I would be lost… I would be condemned… But as Your world proclaims,
“So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.” Romans 8:1-3 (NLT)
All praise and glory and honor to You my Lord and Savior!
Nov 24th, 2019, Sun, 8:43 pm
Getting the Last Word
Oh, Father, an odd day it has been – meetings and an early school dismissal for parent/teacher conferences made for a short day as such. I have been struggling in preparation for an unexpected funeral but am ready to sit with You for a spell. Bless our time together. Amen.
Luke 3:19-20 (<<click to read the passage)
How often as children did we get into heated discourses with foes – and friends for that matter – that ended up in the batting back and forth of “uh-huhs” and “nuh-uhs”? I have had to step in a couple of times on the bus when this has become a problem. Both parties “know” they are right and will not yield to the other. It seems to be a significant part of sibling interaction, as well.
Really, as adults, we are no better. One or the other always feels that they have to get in the last word so that they may claim “victory”.
Well, in reading through today’s passage, Luke sort of jumps ahead to point out what would eventually lead to John’s demise. He confronted a very powerful person – Herod Antipas – by speaking the truth in regards to his marrying his brother’s wife. Herod was in the wrong but who was going to do anything about it – he was “the ruler of Galilee”? John is imprisoned and loses his head in the end.
So, from a human perspective, Herod could claim the victory because he had the last word and John paid for his insubordination with his life.
But in the setting of eternity, was that truly the case? Most definitely not! There is no evidence that Herod Antipas ever sought forgiveness for his many sins. And if that is so when Herod stands before God on that Final Judgement Day, God Almighty will have the final say and there will be no batting back and forth.
In that mindset, what does it mean for us? At this point, God allows us to do and say as we please. We think we are all that but, in the end, we will see that we are nothing and punishment will be owed. If we have not accepted Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf that debt will belong to us and we will have no choice but to pay it…for all of eternity.
Lord Jesus, may we release our pride and accept Your free gift of forgiveness. May we not be about declaring how right we are to our eternal detriment. Amen.
Nov 21st, 2019, Thurs, 6:03 pm
Nuts and Shells
Father, I am coming before You a little earlier today. It is really best that I do so in that I am more with it this time of day and I want to catch everything You have to say to me. Please bless our time together. Amen.
Luke 3:15-18 (<<click to read the passage)
As I read through this portion of Scripture last night, one thing that grabbed my attention was John’s reference to separating the chaff from the wheat. As I thought on that, peanuts came to mind.
We have one restaurant that we frequent that has a galvanized bucket on the table full of peanuts in the shell. Years ago, they encouraged their customers to just throw the empty shells on the floor. They now supply an empty bucket just for those.
My assumption (and that usually gets me in trouble!) was that peanut shells are good only for the trash. I’m wrong on that (if you are curious, check out Uses of Peanut Shells) but for the average individual, we just throw them away. What we are after is that which the shells hold – the peanut!
In God’s Kingdom, He invites all to be used of Him. Nobody is excluded but because He created us, we have a choice. We can choose to live for God and be a “peanut” to be used for His glory. Or we can refuse to live for God and be as the shell with no value in His Kingdom and in the end, we will be discarded into “the never-ending fire” as John makes very clear.
Now many may think that we are “nuts” for giving ourselves over to God by repenting and allowing Him to use us as He sees fit. And even though George Washington Carver invented more than 300 uses for peanuts (but not peanut butter!) God has a far more extensive list of things that we can do and be for His glory! And every single one of them brings fulfillment to our lives that absolutely nothing else will!
So ultimately, in the end, it is our choice to be “nuts” for Jesus or be a “shell” of what we could have been. With the first, we have eternal value and eternal life that will not be wasted. For the latter, we will find no lasting value here and we will have only eternal suffering and separation from God as our reward for rejecting His life-giving offer.
May we choose wisely, for we will have no one to blame but ourselves. Our choice will bring blessing or banishment!
Nov 20th, 2019, Wed, 12:39 pm
Humility
1 O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
Your glory is higher than the heavens.
2 You have taught children and infants
to tell of your strength,
silencing your enemies
and all who oppose you. Psalm 8:1-2
Luke 3:15-18 (<<click to read the passage)
In recent conversations, the topic of humility has come up. Whether it is in athletics or the workplace…or the church, for that matter, humility goes a long way.
I know a fine young lady who is very gifted in playing basketball. She has what it takes to do well – she scores lots of points for her team, she is a good defensive player, as well. But what makes her even more outstanding is the fact that it is not all about her. She willingly takes the opportunity to set others up so they can shine as well. She does it with great joy! She is humble.
I heard, a while back about a high school baseball player who had been raised to believe that he was all that. Yes, he had great skill but it went to his head to the point where he thought he was so good that he could live above the rules and regulations set for the team. He was not humble.
This is what my Life Application Study Bible had to say about John the Baptist,
“Israel had not seen a prophet for more than 400 years. It was widely believed that when the Messiah would come, prophecy would reappear… When John burst onto the scene, the people were excited. He was obviously a great prophet, and they were sure that the early awaited age of the Messiah had come. Some, in fact, thought John himself was the Messiah. John spoke like the prophets of old, saying that the people must turn from their sin to God to avoid punishment and to experience his mercy and approval. This is a message for all times and places, but John spoke it with particular urgency; he was preparing the people for the coming Messiah.”
Wouldn’t it have been tempting to run with the hearts of the people? God most certainly had put the right man in place – from his conception even! But many would have succumbed to their pride and the power and prestige that comes with stardom. But not John. He made it very clear that he would soon be followed by one greater than he – so much greater that he would even be worthy to “untie the straps of his sandals.” Now that is humility!
Now before we go patting ourselves on the back because we feel that we are not prideful, we don’t have to necessarily outstanding in our field to be prideful.
How many times do we find ourselves in circumstances where someone steps on our toes – yeah, it might hurt but the person doing the stepping may very well be doing the right thing. It might be beneficial even. But because we have done things the way we have done them for so long, we take offense. Where pride can come about is if the “toe stepper” falls for some reason and we find great satisfaction in that fall. Regardless of what was accomplished due to their efforts, all we see is that we are vindicated and the scourge is gone. That is not humility.
Lord Jesus, pride is an easy trap in which to fall. May we follow the example of John – and You for that matter! May we be Your humble followers, always putting You before us and putting others before ourselves. Amen.
Nov 19th, 2019, Tue, 7:33 pm