gratitude for grace

Do not forsake me, O LORD!

O my God, be not far from me!

Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

Psalm 38:21-22

As I prepare, in gratitude, to celebrate and give thanks today, I am reminded by the penitent passion of David in Psalm 38 to be at all times most thankful that God delivers me from the worst that is within me. Psalm 38 was composed in the moral aftermath of David’s confession and public exposure of the sins of adultery, murder, and conspiracy. The Law demanded death for all three offenses. And yet David pled for mercy, for forgiveness, for a return to healthy relationship with God. David is well aware of God’s discipline and wrath because of his guilt (Psalm 38:1-2). He is burdened in the depressing weight of the guilt of his sin (Psalm 38:3-4). He takes responsibility for his foolishness and selfishness (Psalm 38:5-8) even as it physically exhausts him to do so.

David acknowledges and is hurt by the relational damage he has done (Psalm 38:1-12). He is so done with the shame and guilt that he feels speechless and struck dumb (Psalm 38:13-14). And what does he do in this state? He turns to God in full repentance. He rejects living by feelings for living by faith.

And then insights about God give David hope:

• God will answer as we wait (Psalm 38:15).
• Confession clears a path to deliverance by God not only from sin, but from the torment of accusers (Psalm 38:17-20).
• God reveals a new direction, following the good, that emerges from His grace and forgiveness (Psalm 38:20).

And all those insights lead to confidence that God, in forgiving grace, will not forsake us. Jesus, Who is our salvation, will help those who humbly confess sin, grieve over the consequences, and then follow God Who is salvation. Thank You, God, that You deliver us at our worst to help us serve and love You at Your best!

a different gospel

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.

Galatians 1:6-7

I too am astonished at the way in which “different gospels” ensnare souls. Satan loves to counterfeit. He loves to clothe his lies in a robe of religiousity, twisted thinking, and a pinch of what looks like truth… but this is destructive. There are many distorted gospels today. Here are some that come to mind:

• Legalistic distortion. It is all about what I do, not much of what Jesus did matters. I will prove to you how good I am. I will judge sin around me distorting the fact that Jesus took all of the judgment at the cross.
• Liberal distortion. There is no such thing as sin. Jesus tried to show us a way to happiness by accepting ourselves as we are in Him. We can only find love by loving ourselves and accepting “the way we are”. There is no need for a redeemer, just a divine buddy who accepts us as we are and changes to be like us.
• Loving distortion. God just wants me to love everyone and everything and be kind. It starts with loving myself. And Jesus tried to tell people this but they killed him for it. His disciples couldn’t deal with it and created a new religion, destroying his original message.

All these distortions are lies. Jesus died for our sins. He was raised for us to find renewing power so He could change us. A new birth means we repent of an old sinful life, allow the gospel to renew our deepest, darkest impulses and live in the transforming work of God’s Spirit and Word as new creations in Christ.

You are

He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen.

Deuteronomy 10:21

You are my praise, O God

to You I will always sing

for You have done everything

for me that I could not

You are my praise, O God

for Your power alone

paid the price to atone

for the sin-debt that I could not

You are my praise, O God

great is Your sustaining grace

in Christ I will always see Your face

when my broken sin meant I could not

You are my praise, O God

forevermore I can sing

and thanks I will bring

before You I stand when I should not

You are my God

the center of this soul

where You sustain and hold

what circumstances I can not

You are my God

I worship You my King

with Your people I can sing

of the glory I have not

You are my God

Creator, Sustainer, Savior, Lord

Redeemer, Enabler, precious Word

You teach me what I know not

You are my God

and I bow before You

I submit to all You do

thankful You are and You do what I cannot

the darkest day

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Mark 15:34

And in that moment Jesus bore the worst anyone could ever imagine. With the evil of all humankind upon Him, every murder, every torture, every genocide, all the sorrows, griefs, burdens, and sins ever done in all the earth for all of human history past, present, and future, Jesus found that God the Father had truly forsaken Him. He was all alone in all that pain. He knew no sin but became sin for us. And nailed to a cruel cross with a crowd of onlookers jeering insults, Jesus atoned for MY sin. It was the world’s burden He bore as well as all my pain and grief and selfish sin heaped upon Him at the moment. No wonder the world went dark (Mark 15:33).

And by Jesus giving Himself on the darkest day, new light now fills the world. We can trust that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and on the third day rose again according to the scriptures. Bursting through the black clouds, the gospel shines an everlasting spotlight of hope! And in that massively important event, the central truth of humanity and of all human hope, salvation broke through the most impenetrable darkness of our worst days even today! There is no more darkest day because Jesus gave Himself on that day. The darkest day of human history has already been. There was only one afternoon like that one… the real Black Friday. And from it now all hope rises eternal.

Jesus,

You were forsaken on that dark day so that I can be accepted in the full light of God’s grace. You were abandoned so that I could be received as a son, adopted into God’s home, an heir of eternal life with You. My sins were part of that horrible weight on that day. My wrongs were made right in Your love and obedience. I am now dressed in Your righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne! I will have no dark day of judgment because You already had my dark day on Your dark day. You have taken the darkest day for all of us. Praise You, O King of love!

Amen

difficult by design

And you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.

Deuteronomy 8:2

As a generation in Israel stood ready to cross the Jordan, enter the land God had promised them, and undo the forty years of judgement and wandering that had previously defined their lives, Moses reminded them that their difficult past had a definite, divine purpose. God had led them, not abandoned them, in the wilderness. God made that time what it was… a time to mature His people and show His power. He developed trust and obedience as the wilderness generation watched their parents die so that they might gain what the previous generation had rejected.

So what did God do by bringing them through all this difficulty?

• He humbled them. Hunger drove them to cry to God Who gave them manna (Deuteronomy 8:3). Their clothing stayed unworn over four decades in the desert (Deuteronomy 8:4).
• He disciplined them. God disciplined His loved children so that they might emerge mature in their faith (Deuteronomy 8:5).
• He tested their obedience. They new generation was ready to keep God’s commands, walk in His ways, and fear Him (Deuteronomy 8:6).

And after this difficulty and discipline came the delight of the new life! A Promised Land was all theirs for the taking. God was bringing them to good land with fountains, lakes, and streams. He was taking them from desert sand to fertile soil. They would grow wheat, barley, vines, figs, pomegranates, olives, and honey. Iron and copper would easily be found in abundance. They would eat and be full (Deuteronomy 8:7-10).

The God of desert discipline is also the God of Promised Land provision. He will bring both trial and treasure, testing and triumph, need and abundance, difficulties and grace to draw us nearer to Him. But it is clear, His good purpose will stand up through every minute of our experience.

not wasted

But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.”

Mark 14:6

Anything poured out in love and worship of Jesus is not wasted.

That lesson taught me clearly by a woman with Jesus is not wasted.

The flask of ointment broken and spilled out over Jesus was not wasted.

The fragrance and the flagrance devoted from her heart to Jesus was not wasted.

The reactions of the indignant were actually jealous of her generosity to Jesus. But it wasn’t wasted.

What do I have now to pour out from my life and goods to spill in extravagant worship of Jesus? It will not be wasted.

when the feelings are real but not true

For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

why have you rejected me?

Why do I go about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

Psalm 43:2

Things are never as bad as my emotions make them seem. God is faithful. My feelings are not. I may even be taken up in my feelings into spiritual conclusions that are not even remotely accurate. That seems to be what is going on with this lament at the start of the forty-third psalm. The feelings are real, but are not true. The psalmist cries out for God’s justice as ungodly people appear to have the upper hand (Psalm 43:1). The prayer is one of faith (I have taken refuge in You) and of strong feeling (You reject me, I am mourning). It is a kind of worship to pray those feelings to God, as this psalm demonstrates.

There is a confidence in the light and truth of God’s Word to change the situation. And the feelings quickly change as true faith in God’s Word encourages the sufferer. The perspective of God’s presence brings peace (Psalm 43:3). And in the presence of God there is praise as the power of God is remembered at His altar where sin is atoned and wrongs made right in God’s mercy (Psalm 43:4).

And the soul that was once filled with negative feelings is confronted and comforted. The psalmist “talks back” to the negative self-talk. “Why are you cast down? Why are you in turmoil?” This is a blunt “Stop it!” moment. Faith turns the corner on feelings-driven anxiety. The soul now in confidence boldly makes a stand: “Hope in God.” It know that this real praise brings true perspective: “I shall again praise Him.” It knows what it now has in relationship with God: “He is my salvation and my God” (Psalm 43:5).

When troubled, I pray that my soul might work through the progression of Psalm 43.

1. I come to God.

2. I am honest about real feelings, as they are.

3. I look to God’s truth despite how I feel.

4. I praise God anyway for what He already has done.

5. I confront my wrong, feelings-driven, selfish agenda.

6. I hope in God, confident in salvation and in relationship He has made for me.

Glory and Greatness

And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live.’

Deuteronomy 5:24

As Israel stood

at the foot of Horeb

receiving the Law

filled with awe

they knew they’d seen God’s glory

they knew they’d seen His greatness

Moses again explained

to those gathered again

all the Law made clear

as they all stood near

the God of all glory

the God of all greatness

A voice from the fire

God’s Law then required

obedience to what was heard

submission to God’s holy word

from the voice of God’s glory

from the voice of God’s greatness

God spoke with a man

who surprisingly could still stand

holding tablets of stone

with authority alone

rooted in God’s glory

anchored in God’s greatness

On another mountain stood

the Savior Who would

at Calvary free us from the Law

so all who on Him call

find God’s redeeming glory

know God’s gracious greatness

until He returns

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

Mark 13:32

It would be amusing, if it wasn’t so disrespectful of Jesus, to line up all the false predictions of His return. Just a month again, as the American presidential election race was in full fever pitch, I constantly heard, read, and saw so many people anxiously convinced that once one party or the other secured the White House in the election, the return of Christ would HAVE to come. Both candidates have been framed to be the Anti-Christ in weird internet conspiracy theories. Sadly, I have seen evangelicals do this my entire life! It’s crazy. It’s sad. It’s unbiblical. And it disregards the direct command of Jesus.

Jesus taught His disciples in Mark 13 to be ready for the end of the age. And since it has not occurred yet as Jesus ultimately describes it, we must assume then that these words of warning apply to us today. Indeed, the teaching that nobody except the Father Himself can know when the end will occur needs to be accepted. Yet here we are, looking at a world in moral chaos (reality check: it always has been since Genesis 3) and we want so bad to predict the timing of future judgment.

So here is what I am thinking as I take in the caution Jesus clearly calls us to practice: Maybe we should just get on with making Him known in a world that needs the gospel and needs us to live like Him to show them what God’s grace is all about! We want to spare them from the worst, right? From Jesus’ conclusion in Mark 13:32-27 I consider these things:

• No one can know when “that day” will be. Stop trying to figure it out! (Mark 13:32).
• Since we can’t know, be sharp, stay focused on the gospel, obey Jesus and love others (Mark 13:33).
• The Master expects us to serve Him while watching for His return (Mark 13:34-46)!
• The tendency to drift into either laziness or hyper-eschatological nonsense are equal kinds of disobedience (Mark 13:36).
• Stay awake! The world wants to lull us into spiritual slumber. Jesus wants us actively trusting Him and watching out for Him (Mark 13:37).

the wonder of steadfast love

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

Psalm 36:10

The steadfast love of God, when used in the Psalms, is an Old Testament poetry theological term for God’s grace. And this psalm is a ballad of beautiful grace. It is both a described and proclaimed grace, understood theologically and shouted doxologically! It is praised and embraced, believed and lived. Look at the descriptions:

• Steadfast love (grace) is vast beyond the heavens (Psalm 36:5).
• Grace is rooted and immovable like a mountain (Psalm 36:6a).
• It is deep and just, benefiting all living creatures (Psalm 36:6b).

And what does God’s grace provide as David sings about it?

• Immeasurable, precious value and true wealth (Psalm 36:7a).
• Refuge in God’s protection of His people (Psalm 36:7b).
• An abundant feast of God’s care and love (Psalm 36:8a).
• A flowing refreshment from God’s river of delight (Psalm 36:8b).
• A fountain of life overflowing (Psalm 36:9a).
• Light that enlightens all our ways (Psalm 36:9b).

Lord,

Like David I too pray that Your steadfast love will continue. And in Christ it is guaranteed because He once for all died and was raised by You in grace and mercy so that with justice and grace my sins are forgiven. And now Your eternal, steadfast love can fill the lives of all who believe! Your grace is my only wealth. Your grace is my refuge against a wicked world. Your grace is my feast and my flowing fountain. Your grace is my light that floods the darkness with Your glory. Thank You for Your faithful, gracious, steadfast love!

Amen

Idolatry is all too easy.

Therefore watch yourselves very carefully. Since you saw no form on the day that the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the midst of the fire…

Deuteronomy 4:15

God warned Israel that precisely because He did not appear in a visible form to the nation, they would be tempted to want a god with form. They wanted to “fill in” the details that He purposefully left vague so that His glory would be their mental picture of Him. God demands we worship Him in transcendence.

They would be tempted to carve images in human form (Deuteronomy 4:16). They would be tempted to make animal idols (Deuteronomy 4:17-18). They would make the moon and stars objects of worship if left unchecked (Deuteronomy 4:19). Idolatry would whisper to them from every corner of their lives. And God’s voice that thundered from Sinai demanded their undivided hearts and attention. Worship only the God of the Covenant! Never worship an idol!

Yet how like Israel we still are. We may not carve pagan deities to bow to. We may not have shrines and offerings and rituals to idols per se. Be we do replace the glory of God with a worship of the world around us way too much. We do so when we believe wealth will satisfy and provide for us. We do so when we think human government is the key to our security. We do so when we demand that other people meet our needs. We do so when we enshrine animals with sentience, rights, and familial status. We do so when we think the natural universe is all there is and make our creation the result of random chance and an accident of the cosmos. How idolatrous our world still is!

Lord,

Purge me from my looking away from Your glory to the stuff around me. Forgive me for the worship of form and not glory! I will watch my heart. I want to see Your glory, hear only Your voice, and worship the mystery of the Almighty!

Amen

God-lovers love others

And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:34

So what was the wise answer that this scribe gave to Jesus that placed him at the cusp of the kingdom? Simply put: he agreed with Jesus’ summary of God’s Law and expectations of humanity. The scribe had asked Jesus to tell him what was the greatest commandment, a classic theological stump question of Judaism. Jesus responded with a two-part summary of all that God revealed in the Law. If you kept them well, you could keep all the other commands. And they literally are the heart of God’s Law. Jesus’ summary:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself

This summary honors the great Shema: Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God, the Lord is One. As the scribe put it well: He is one and there is no other. To hold these two commands forth in life is to acknowledge and obey God well. It is worship lived out for all to experience.

Jesus taught that only one object of worship should be the focus of our hearts. We must love God with all we are. That is what worship is. It isn’t about songs or liturgy exclusively. Those will just be dry ritual without a heart, mind, soul, and strength devoted to loving God passionately foremost. Worship is always a heart activity before it is expressed in any outward manifestation.

And from that worship coming from our loving hearts, God leads our hearts to neighbor love. And who is my neighbor? Jesus’ teaching made that clear as well… even my enemy is my neighbor when viewed by the supernatural, redeeming love of God. Any fellow human being, fellow sufferer, fellow sinner, fellow image-bearer of the Creator should be loved as seriously as I love myself. Wow! Imagine a world where by Christ’s power and trust in the redeeming work of Jesus, people love well. This love as God commands would eclipse our petty differences of politics, race, gender, ethnicity, income, education, or any other human difference! That is how Jesus teaches God-lovers to love others.

Sent

And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

Romans 10:15a

Sent with a message

Sent to preach

Sent by the gospel

Souls to reach

Sent to the nations

Sent to all

Sent to our neighbors

All ruined by the Fall

Sent by the Master

Sent into the field

Sent to represent Him

A harvest to yield

Sent by Jesus

Salvation to tell

Sent with urgency

To rescue from hell

Sent with others

Together we proclaim

Sent to raise churches

To praise Jesus’ name

Sent in conviction

Sent into the strife

Sent to the dead

To preach them to life

Sent to be loving

Sent to show care

Sent to help anyone

Anytime anywhere

Sent as ambassadors

With a strong gospel bent

How show they believe

Unless we are sent?

by what authority?

…and they said to him, “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?

Mark 11:28

Jesus did not need to answer these questions, and indeed, He did not do so (Mark 11:31). The heads of the Jewish religious system came to Jesus in the temple to confront Him with these questions. THEY were the authorities, at least according to formal Judaism in Jesus’ day. THEY were chief priests (charged with all temple and atonement duties), scribes (charged with maintaining and keeping the Law and its interpretation), and elders (charged with administration, as well as judicial and leadership decisions). THEY were challenging Jesus because His authority was self-evident and a threat to them. He healed by word and touch. He cast out demons. He commanded the heavens. He fed the masses. He taught with authority without consulting them. He took charge of the temple courtyards. He claimed divine power. He forgave sinners. THEY knew all this and still they pushed against Jesus and His clear authority.

Jesus shows His authority, never holding anything back in the gospels. Read through the gospel of Mark. It’s everywhere in rapid-fire narrative. It’s direct and to the point. It’s decisive. It’s powerful. It was ludicrous of the Jewish leaders to ask these questions. They wanted an answer in order to formally establish blasphemy and heresy. Jesus knew that. So He masterfully flipped the script.

Jesus turned them to consider the authority of His predecessor, John the Baptist. He asked them in the presence of temple crowds to explain John’s ministry: Was his baptism from heaven or from man? And they knew in that moment that they were caught. To say it was from heaven was to invite Jesus to point out their own flawed system because they rejected John and Jesus, and thus God Himself. If they dismissed John’s work as merely human, they would enrage the crowds who had flocked to John just like they now flocked to Jesus and this would damage their control over the people. Stuck in the vise of Jesus’ penetrating spiritual logic, they refused to answer Him, walking away stumped by the smartest man Who ever lived!

Jesus,

I know Your authority. You are Lord. You are God. You are King. You are Wisdom personified. You are Strength and Power. I submit to You and Your authority with joy!

Amen

disheartened

Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Mark 10:22

This is one of the most tragic responses in all of the gospels. A rich young man came to Jesus with the right question: What must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus responded with the answer the young man was expecting: Keep the Law. And the young man rather naively claimed to be doing so. You can hear the legalistic rigor in his answer.

That’s when Jesus pressed in beyond mere external religion to get to the heart’s real situation: Sell all you have, give it away to the poor, and follow me. This was a legitimate call to discipleship. All the other disciples had left their livelihoods. Peter, Andrew, James, and John abandoned their nets and boats at the lakeshore and followed Jesus. Matthew left his tax booth behind him. That’s what a disciple should do… we value Jesus supremely. But Jesus, by this invitation, uncovered a collision of values that left the rich young man’s true heart desires exposed. Ultimately “this life” was valued more than eternal life for him.

The young man was disheartened. That’s a word we don’t use much anymore. It means in today’s vernacular to lose determination or confidence. By refusing to let go of his security to desire wealth and surrender instead to a humble life of dependence upon Christ while learning from Him, he revealed that he already had another master: wealth. The young man was already a disciple of possessions. Yet, rejecting Jesus made him sad. He knew riches weren’t going to last, but he chose the sorrow of worldly wealth over the joy of eternal wealth in Jesus. He would rather be depressed with what he did know and want than to risk it following in faith.

This story makes me think about how often we do the very same thing. And frankly, when I am “disheartened” or “depressed” it is always at this same heart level. In this life there is always a war going on in my heart. I feel its explosions and attacks quite regularly. As a pastor I run into active battles others are caught in as the live fire of this conflict rages with their desires. And I have to face it in my own heart when things don’t happen like I want them to… and this happens a lot! 

This war is a war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of self. And when I align with my selfish kingdom, I am always at some point disheartened. My self thinks that what it wants is “great” — just like this rich young man considered “great possessions” better than Jesus and following Him. Like him, I can think material things are the answer. This is disheartening. I can crave acceptance from others and place a demand that all people like me or else I am unhappy. This people pleasing is just another kingdom of self battle for me. I know I am a people-pleaser. It too is disheartening. I sadly want many things more than Jesus sometimes. When I realize this I need to repent and reach out to my Master.

Lord Jesus,

Only a life of following You brings joy. I believe and I know this… forgive my disheartened rejection of You. Bring me to deny myself and follow my Master. I am tired of being disheartened. 

Amen

extreme measures

And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

Mark 9:43

Jesus has a solution for dealing with besetting sins. It makes us uncomfortable when we hear these words from Him. Jesus proposes radical amputation to deal with controlling sins. In Jesus’ perfect moral logic it is better to be one-handed, one-legged, or even one-eyed in order to remove temptations than to be whole and through repeated sinful habit end up in hellfire.

Of course, I am convinced that actual self-mutilation is really NOT what Jesus is driving at here. Amputees are perfectly capable of being atrocious sinners. What Jesus IS driving at though is to find a deliberate means to maintain true repentance of sin. We take sin seriously. We deal with our tendency to yield to temptation by taking strong actions in response. In decades of biblical pastoral counseling I have seen the wisdom of Jesus borne out with real actions. The drunk drives a different route home in order to avoid the liquor store. The porn addict sells his computer and locks down his smartphone, maybe even switching to a flip phone that has no internet. The money worshipper learns generosity by disciplined auto-drafting in order to give freely rather than be trapped by wealth. The angry man stops following the sports teams that infuriate him and lead to a chain of anger and a miserable home. The person who idolizes politics blocks cable news channels, political podcasts, and talk radio. The thief gives back out of concern for the welfare of others and not his own selfishness. The jealous or envious woman struggling with comparison and lack of motivation deletes all social media and looks instead to scripture and real life fellowship with other believers. Amputation in these ways is just as literal as Jesus illustrates with eye-pokes and foot chops.

Lord,

As I regularly self-examine in Your Word and as Your Spirit searches my heart, reveal to me where “cutoff” measures will help me to thrive. I will trust what You ask as I believe You when You say that such actions will make my life and my eternity much better.

Amen

soul value

For what can a man give in return for his soul?

Mark 8:37

This world offers lots of cheap options to sell out a soul. It is a bad gamble, a losing proposition, and a rotten deal every time. And yet most people will live, and sadly, die, having sold their souls at a steep loss. The world will not offer anything near the soul’s eternal value. Fleeting moments cannot equal the permanence of eternity with Jesus!

Here are some of the cheap plastic knock-off trinkets the world wants to offer for our souls:

“Power” or “Prestige”. But it really isn’t! Let the buyer beware. The world offers AAA battery voltage compared to the unfathomable power of God in Christ that created, sustains, and fills the universe! And political power (despite yesterday’s outcomes)? A burnt matchstick in comparison to the power of God!

Pleasure. This is the most alluring trade off from what we see displayed by the world system. People easily think that the goal of all life is physical ease and pleasure. But sin corrupts all good pleasures when it makes its offer! God provides pleasures forevermore at His right hand. And age and decay do not diminish the pleasures of desiring God and enjoying His gifts!

Worldly wealth. There is no lasting treaure in this world. Jesus calls us to lay up treasure in heaven. But the world offers empty property deeds and bank accounts that will drain dry… and honestly, it will all burn away to make way for Christ’s rule in a new heavens and a new earth!

The world will cheat us! Satan will try to deceive us. We need to heed Jesus’ warning to take up a cross (something this world considers repulsive and will NEVER truly value) and follow Him (Mark 8:34-36). That is the real value. This is the true reward. I am banking on it!

nothing without love

And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:2

I am nothing without love.

It does not matter if I spoke every language in earth or in heaven.

If I didn’t have love, I’d be all noise and no substance… just a clang hanging in the air with no meaning.

I am nothing without love.

What would it benefit me to have the deepest insights into the meaning of everything?

To delve the depths of theology or science without love is trivial.

I am nothing without love.

I could have all the wealth possible to gain in this world and then I could just give it all away.

I could donate every organ in my body to sick people, but giving my life away without love is absolutely pointless.

I need love.

I need to be loved by God Who gave His only Son, loving this broken and sinful world AND a broken and sinful me.

I need to be loved by and with those who are transformed by the love of Christ.

I need to be loved by a wife who loves me like the Church love Jesus… if I could just love her like Christ loves us. Love’s beauty lives in that mystery.

I need to love.

I must be patient. I must be kind. I must not envy others. I must not boast in pride. I must lay down my insistence that life always go my way. I must bypass irritations and my tendency toward resentment. I must celebrate the truth over my own perceived gains. 

I need to love by bearing hard things, believing the best when the worst happens, always hoping, committed to enduring through the power of the gospel.

I can be something in that love!

heart target

And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him… all these evil things come from within and they defile a person.”

Mark 7:20, 23

My problems may be aggravated or occasioned by external circumstances, but externals are never the real problem. People don’t “make” me anger or cause me to lose control or are to blame for my unhappiness! Other people or their actions may be the circumstances to my problem, but Jesus is very clear that what comes out of my own heart under external pressure is the real issue for me to understand.

Jesus says even the wrong in my actions has its origin “out of the heart of man” (Mark 7:21). From the heart these actions flow. And Jesus does not mince words… He names the worst external sins ALONGSIDE external sins and equates them as equally evil! Look at the list in Mark 6:21-22:

• evil thoughts (internal)
• sexual immorality (external)
• theft (external)
• murder (external)
• adultery (external)
• coveting (internal)
• wickedness (internal)
• deceit (internal and external)
• sensuality (internal and external)
• slander (external)
• pride (internal)
• foolishness (internal and external)

The heart (a term that is biblical shorthand for the inner person composed of mind, will, intellect, emotions, thoughts, intentions, motivations, etc) is the source of my problems. My responses flow from my heart, and when sin or selfishness rule my heart, I shrink everything down to a micro-kingdom of one and then I sin. And in Jesus’ words, I am then “defiled” by my own sin that came from a defiled heart.

Thank God, Jesus is in the heart-replacement business! He renews minds (Romans 12:1-2)! He helps us put off from our hearts what is evil and put on what is good (Ephesians 4:18-32; Colossians 3:1-17)! He fulfills the promise of the New Covenant by giving us new hearts (Ezekiel 36:26-27). His Word and Holy Spirit guide us in all truth so that we can have good things flow from within our hearts and out into a new life (John 16:13).