Tag: JEsus

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For the Gift of Jesus

Christ my Savior,
To us a child is born! To us a Son is given! On this Christmas Day, I am elated to celebrate your birth, which ushered in grace that could be seen and touched in flesh and blood. Although my finite mind will never grasp the miracle of your incarnation, my heart will nevertheless ponder it in awesome wonder. 

Who am I – who are any of us – that you should willingly choose to dwell among us, the very ones who in sin daily rebel against you and reject your will for our lives? How deeply you must love and treasure us to subject yourself to such opposition, so that you might save the very ones who oppose you. Work in me such heartfelt gratitude for this gift – for you! – that my rejoicing is reflected not only in singing and song, but also in loving others as deeply as you love me. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

A Real Christmas Is Filled with Delight

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(Zephaniah 3:14-17)

When someone bursts out with “Let’s celebrate!”, it’s hard not to get excited. Who doesn’t like celebrating? And there all kinds of ways to do it. It could mean planning a big party. It might mean booking a vacation. It might also be a very nice dinner out or a special, home-cooked favorite and a movie. No matter what it looks like, everyone likes to celebrate.

But long before you start cranking out celebration plans, a natural question arises: What are we celebrating? The answer to that question matters, because the cause for celebration determines the scale of celebration. Going out for ice cream might be an appropriate celebration for a Third Grade daughter’s good grade on a quiz, but it falls short as a celebration for that daughter’s college graduation. A special getaway could be an appropriate way for a couple to celebrate a 25th Anniversary, but it would be overkill as a celebratory reward for the husband actually remembering to stop and get milk on his way home from work. The cause for celebration determines the scale of the celebration.

So when we have a celebration on a scale like the one Zephaniah describes, “Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem!” (v.14), we want to know: what is the cause of the celebration? Singing, shouting, and glad rejoicing – it sounds like something pretty significant is the cause of celebration! 

Zephaniah, who served during the reign of Josiah, one of Israel’s few respectable kings, explains why such a celebration is justified. “The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm” (v.15). We might assume he was referring to some pretty awful times that Israel was going through. He was… only they hadn’t happened yet. In the first two chapters of Zephaniah, he prophesied the judgment that would be coming on not only Israel, but the surrounding enemy nations who had opposed Israel. Their downfall was coming. For Israel, that would be fulfilled through their Babylonian Captivity. Yes, they would be taken captive, displaced from their homes, and relocated to a foreign land.

But on the other side of that captivity would be reason to rejoice and be glad; to sing and shout: the Lord would end that punishment, overcome the Babylonians, and allow them to return to their homeland with the assurance that the Lord – the true “King of Israel” – would be with them. Zephaniah further cements that certainty. “On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves” (v.16-17a). While it would be understandable for them to question if God had deserted them while in Babylon, let there be no doubt that he would be among his people once again as a Mighty Warrior to save them. Their gracious God, who had warned of their judgment if they continued to turn from him, is also concerned about making sure they know he would be with them and accept them again. 

We may not be all that open about our need for it, but we also crave acceptance. It may be more important coming from certain people than others, but deep down, we want to be accepted. When therapists talk about working through a person’s “father wound(s),” they are referring to the lack of acceptance a child felt coming from their father. Maybe dad was never in the picture, leading the child to feel abandoned because dad didn’t care enough to be a part of their life. Perhaps dad put work over family and/or kids. Sadly, emotionally and physically abusive dads compound the problem by replacing that desired acceptance with harmful rejection. Children in those settings tend to seek out acceptance from other outlets, and those often less desirable outlets snowball into bigger problems down the road. 

The father-child relationship isn’t the only one that craves acceptance. We want our boss to appreciate and accept us for the hard work we do. We want our spouse to accept us for the effort we put into marriage. We want our friends to want to hang out with us as a sign of acceptance. We want our kids and grandchildren to accept us. At times, the acceptance we crave in any one of these relationships can even cause us to go to extreme and even unhealthy lengths to earn it.

Sadly, some of us never feel like we have it. No matter how hard we try, it never seems to be good enough. We lack this or that. We fall short. We don’t measure up. This time of year can also easily amplify the lack of acceptance we feel. 

Take heart, Christian. God has a word for you this morning. He accepts you. More than that: he is delighted in you, even breaking out into song over you! “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (v.17). The Lord delights in you. The very acceptance you crave from others is already yours in the Lord. 

While this Sunday has been traditionally labeled “Guadete” Sunday (Latin for “rejoice”), in reference to our rejoicing, here it is the Lord who is doing the rejoicing over us! He doesn’t just delight in us, but takes great delight in us, AND rejoices over us in song! 

Here’s why being the Lord’s delight actually surpasses the acceptance you might otherwise desire from others: you weren’t required to earn it. You did nothing to be deserving of it. But it’s yours nonetheless!

Contrast that with the acceptance you crave from others. Suppose you get it. Suppose you finally receive the acceptance you crave, whatever that looks like for you. Your next natural step is to assess what you did right to finally receive that acceptance. When you pinpoint whatever it is you think you did (cooked your spouse the perfect meal, over performed for your boss, etc.), now what? Do you have to maintain that same standard indefinitely? What happens when you fail to hit that mark in the future (you will at some point!)? When you miss the mark in the future, do you miss out on that acceptance as well? Is it conditional, entirely dependent upon something you did or didn’t do? Then what happens when that falls short in the future? 

Poof! There goes your acceptance.

But not with God. The Lord delights in you because he’s already done all the work to make you delightful! He carried out what was necessary to delight in you. You can’t undo it. You can’t improve on it. The Lord delights in you because he’s the one who made you delightful. 

Imagine how these words must have hit the ears of God’s people when they came from Zephaniah. Zephaniah, along with his contemporaries, prophesied the imminent judgment that was going to be carried out against Israel. Remember, they were going to be picked apart by the Babylonians and taken into exile to live in a foreign land. Worse than refugees, they would be conquered captives, forced to adapt to new customs and a new language and the list goes on. This was going to be the consequence of their repeated unfaithfulness to God. 

Do you imagine this reality would lead to doubts about where they stood with God? Do you suppose they second-guessed their status as his special, chosen people? Wouldn’t rejection – not affection – better describe what they were going to be experiencing? And they knew there was no negotiating with God. They had repeatedly cheated on him. They ignored him. He was an afterthought in their minds. He was far from first in their hearts, and they had no one to blame but themselves.

Sound familiar? “And they knew there was no negotiating with God. They had repeatedly cheated on him. They ignored him. He was an afterthought in their minds. He was far from first in their hearts, and they had no one to blame but themselves.” That’s not just idolatrous Israel. That’s me! That’s you! We have no wiggle room to negotiate with God, and we know it. 

So, let the words sink in again. “He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (v.17). But why? How? How can we be sure that this is true and that he won’t change his mind???

As we draw closer to our celebration of Christmas, it is time. Time to shift your gaze from the clouds, where we await Jesus’ return, to the manger in Bethlehem, where we celebrate his arrival. This is true: if God did not delight in us, in you, there would be no celebration at Christmas, because he wouldn’t have given us Christ. But he did! The gift in the manger seals the deal. The gift of Jesus Christ our Savior is the proof. God does delight in us!

We don’t often focus on feelings as they relate to our faith. There’s a reason for that: we want to guard against our feelings about God overshadowing (or ignoring!) what the Bible says about God. But as we consider the words from Zephaniah this morning, and as we apply them to our Christmas celebration, you have permission to bask in the feelings associated with knowing that God takes great delight in you. How can we not?!?

Your feelings do matter, because the more Christmases we celebrate, the more we realize that the most likely indicators of memorable or forgettable Christmases are not really the gifts given or received, but how we felt. Gifts are quickly forgotten, but how we felt is not, and the strongest feelings we experience are often those that involve our relationships with others. The Christmas spent estranged from an otherwise close family member is one you’d like to forget because you didn’t enjoy feeling that way. Ask the military wife which Christmas stands out to her and she’ll tell you the one when her deployed spouse surprised her and the kids with an early return at Christmas time. The Christmas engagement is going to stand out in memory over the year you didn’t get that gift you really wanted. 

So how will you feel this Christmas? It depends on where you focus. Will everything get done? Nope. Will everyone be thrilled with their gifts? Nope. Will everyone get along peacefully without anyone losing it? Nope.

Does God take great delight in you? Absolutely. Always. May that fill you with feelings of joy for A Real Christmas. 

And, if the cause for celebration determines the scale of the celebration, you have all that you need for an incredible celebration this Christmas: you have Jesus, and all the divine delight that he brings with him.

God Gives Return Gifts

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(Malachi 3:1-7b)

It’s good business for retailers to have a good return policy, since anywhere from 15% to one-third of Christmas gifts are returned. However, since those returns also amount to hundreds of billions of dollars in purchases needing to be refunded in, one might think retailers would make returns difficult or at least very inconvenient for shoppers. But one reason it pays for retailers to have a good return policy is that shoppers are more likely to buy from them in the first place. In other words, when purchasing gifts for others, if a retailer doesn’t have an easy or favorable return policy, shoppers are less likely to buy from them and will take their business elsewhere. Another reason to have a favorable return policy is that those returning gifts to the store from which it was purchased are more likely to spend their refund – and perhaps a little more – in that same store. So it bodes well for retailers to have good return policies. But shops and stores aren’t the only ones focused on handling returns; so was the prophet Malachi.

Malachi’s whole message is all about returns. While he isn’t the most well-known prophet in the Old Testament, Malachi does have the distinction of being the last one recorded. After the book of Malachi, the Lord silenced his notifications for about 400 years until Jesus’ birth, after which point the Holy Spirit picks up pen again through the New Testament Evangelists and writers and resumes recording the truths of his Word for us again.

Malachi served long after the era of patriarchs and kings in Israel. He was a messenger to the Israelites who had returned from their exile in Babylon. But, since things weren’t as magical as the Israelites expected them to be once back home, they took issue with God. The message recorded for us in Malachi is a back and forth between God and the Israelites, with their complaints directed at God, and God’s response, which essentially amounted to, “You are no different from your ancestors; you are the problem, not me. Return to me and I will return to you.”

He isn’t talking about returning gifts after Christmas, though. He’s got more important returns on his mind, and wants to make sure that God’s people do, too. So what are the returns Malachi mentions?

The Lord’s messenger will return.

The Lord himself will return.

The Lord’s people are called to return. A real Christmas is all about the returns.

The Lord’s Messenger Returns

The first return will be of the Lord’s messenger. “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me” (Malachi 3:1a). About whom was Malachi speaking? He is none other than John the Baptist. But wait. Why do we speak of John the Baptist’s arrival on the scene as a “return”? Because Malachi pictures him metaphorically as Elijah, one of God’s well-known and respected past prophets who lived and served in the past during the time of Israel’s monarchy. In one of the final verses of the whole Old Testament, picturing the arrival of John the Baptist, Malachi writes, “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes” (Malachi 4:5).

John the Baptist, the second Elijah, returned for a very specific purpose: to prepare the way. In the Christian Church year, the Second Sunday in Advent always focuses our attention on the messenger who came to prepare the way for someone greater. That was John’s role, he was well aware of it, and he carried it out faithfully. Another prophet, Isaiah, foreshadowed John’s work by illustrating the type of preparatory work that would need to take place in hearts to be ready for the Savior (cf. Isaiah 40:3-5).

The Lord Returns

Through John the Baptist, God prepared his people for another return: his own.“Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” (Malachi 3:1b-2b).”  This “return,” so to speak, from Malachi’s perspective, looked ahead to two fulfillments: Jesus’ first coming and his return on the Last Day. 

While we spend a significant part of our lives in anticipation of our Christmas celebration each year, we are celebrating an event that already took place 2000+ years ago. God already came into our world in the flesh when Jesus was born. Malachi, along with so many other messengers in the Old Testament, looked ahead to that day, but we look back on it. For them it was an anticipation of a future event to come. 

In that regard, we can relate to the anticipation of a future event to come when we speak of Jesus’ return on the Last Day. Just as Malachi’s audience in his day understood his words to speak of a coming event, so we see his words also referring to a coming day, when on that Last Day he appears again for judgment, and the question is asked, “Who can stand?”

When Jesus returns on the Last Day, it will be as a judge, and he is right to ask “Who can stand,” based on the evidence stacked against the Israelites. Malachi exposes them. “‘So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them’” (Malachi 3:5, 7a).

Indeed, who can stand before the Lord with all that evidence stacked against them? Here is the good news. That day of Jesus’ second and final return, Judgment Day, even with all the sin stacked against mankind, will not be be a day of dread for those who by faith receive the work Jesus did when he came the first time. 

Malachi described that work, too, using pictures to illustrate why the Lord would have to return to his people and the work he would come to do in Jesus Christ. “For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years” (Malachi 3:2c-4).

Jesus came first to refine and purify, to wash away sins and make us presentable before God. Now we can stand! Jesus came to bring the righteousness we needed and to remove the sins we didn’t. Since we have been made holy by faith in Jesus, we have nothing to fear when thinking about standing before the Lord at his Second Return.

That day will be radically different from his first coming, where joy was initially confined to a local hillside among a group of shepherds on a hillside and an angel chorus. The whole world will be the audience when Jesus returns, and the outcome for all people at that return will be entirely dependent upon what each individual believes about Jesus’ first coming at Christmas, and his perfect life, death, and resurrection that follows. 

But until that day, here we stand, sandwiched in the middle. In the past, the Lord returned to his people when Jesus was born into this world on Christmas. In the future, Jesus will return on the Last Day. How do we spend our days in the meantime? The same way. By returning. Returning back to God. 

Our Returns

Why is that such a priority? Because Satan and sin do not take days off. They do not stop doing everything possible to turn you away from God permanently. We already saw the evidence Malachi presented in verse five, but when we read through a list like this, it might be natural for us to presume it’s referring to someone else – those wayward Israelites. But we must know better, right? It’s not an exhaustive list – there could have been many more sins included.

If Malachi was alive today, his warning to us would read a bit differently. “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against, drunkards, greedy shopaholics, sex/pornography addicts, lovers of violence, foul & filthy language, worshippers of sports, celebrity idolators, etc.” He would name different sins, but the sin doesn’t matter – it all does the same damage, trying to gain the upper hand and lead us off the path of righteousness along the path of selfishness that leads to permanent separation from God. 

So Malachi’s message then, along with the other OT prophets, along with John the Baptist, along with any Jesus-loving, Bible-treasuring believer today, is the same: return. For example, listen to just one other Old Testament prophet,  Hosea. “Return, Israel, to the Lord your God. Your sins have been your downfall! Take words with you and return to the Lord. Say to him: “Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips. Assyria cannot save us; we will not mount warhorses. We will never again say ‘Our gods’ to what our own hands have made, for in you the fatherless find compassion.” Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hosea 14:1-3,9). Return to God. As often as it takes, return. Get back on track and don’t step too freely and frequently on that other path so that it becomes comfortable. Return to grace, return to goodness, return to God. 

That’s really just another way of saying “repent.” We often think of repentance as being a call to get our act together and stop sinning so that we can somehow make ourselves presentable before God, and that he’ll will be happy with us as a result.

But if we know the gospel, then we know that God’s happiness with us isn’t based on our repentance or lack thereof; it’s based entirely on what Jesus already did for us. So we don’t return to God in hopes of winning his affections; we return to God because we already have God’s affection. And don’t let sin and Satan fool you – they cannot ever offer you anything better than what you already have with God because of Jesus Christ. 

God says to you through Malachi, “Return to me, and I will return to you” (v.7b). Is there a better gift than that permanent promise? God’s returns are the best gifts. He returns his messengers to us as often as we need to hear their message. He himself will return on the Last Day to make all things new. And in the meantime he give us the gift of returning to him through repentance, and attaches to it his promise to never turn away from us when we do. 

When it comes to your Christmas gifts this year, hang on the ones you like. Return the ones you don’t. It doesn’t really matter. But what does matter is that you don’t miss out on the best return gift of coming back to God again and again. That’s his gift to you, and it’s the key to A Real Christmas. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Christ-Centered Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. In Christian freedom, we have the flexibility to enjoy many different styles and preferences for worship. The patterns or formats may vary. There are different types of music and many unique instruments on which to play. Worship arts and multimedia can be incorporated to enhance or emphasize certain elements. Preaching and teaching can reflect different approaches to communicating the Word of God. There is much variety in worship and there are many gifts to utilize. Thank you for this freedom!

Let us also use that freedom wisely. Let us appreciate your worship gifts not just as novelties to experiment with or trends to follow, but as resources to support the goal of highlighting the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Savior. Worship done well is carried out with an excellence that displays the redemptive words and works of Jesus with beauty and clarity. Bless all Christ-centered worship and refocus all worship that isn’t, so that you, Lord God, might be glorified through your Son, and we might be edified as well.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

A Real Christmas Requires Remembering Why Christ Came

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(1 Thessalonians 3:9-13)

Although it’s unlikely that Paul had just stuffed himself full of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, too many pieces of pie, and then passed out on the couch while the football games were on the TV. Nonetheless, the sentiments of Thanksgiving certainly are in line with what he wrote in this section to the believers in Thessalonica: “How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of God because of you?” (v.9).

Paul was feeling gratitude. He was grateful for what God had done and had continued doing in the lives of the believers there. He directed his gratitude, his thanks, to God. He was rightly thanking God for the joy that the Thessalonians had brought into his life. And, as is the case with genuine gratitude, Paul was interested in more than just empty words, but backing that gratitude up with action. That’s why he desired to return among the Thessalonians to continue what had been started: keep feeding their faith by supplying what was still lacking (v.10-11). What Paul wrote after that is essentially a prayer.

In that prayer, Paul expressed his desire that  “the Lord make [their] love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else…” (v.12). It’s as if Paul is providing a flow chart for us to see how the Christian life works. It all starts with God, who then funnels his gifts to us through faith. Then, as we grow in our faith, those gifts – like an increase in love as well as the other blessings that will follow, will all increase, too. Do you want a “Real Christmas” this year? Here’s your recipe! Go back to the basics: God and his gift of faith and growing it, which leads to other spiritual gifts spilling over, like the ones Paul continues to pray for. 

Paul’s prayer continues. “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). We know the physical dangers of a weak heart. Not only can it cause complications, but even the slightest physical activity with a weak heart can potentially cause serious damage or even be fatal. 

But a weak heart spiritually is even more dangerous. A spiritually weak heart can lead one to drift from God or depend on some other source for strength and sustenance. That will certainly do damage for this life, but the greater concern of having a weak heart is how it potentially will leave us “in the presence of our God and Father” (v.13).

When will we find ourselves in that situation? Paul is looking way beyond the celebration of Christmas to the most monumental event, the Last Day, “when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). The Gospels in the Bible record Jesus teaching and preaching about this day. Even Paul, in this same letter, speaks of what that day will be like. The Thessalonians believers were someone what confused on the details of that Last Day. It’s worth noting that even that much closer to the life and ministry of Jesus, Paul was already focusing on his return and what its looks like to be ready for that day.

What does being ready for that day look like? It means we “will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God.” The first part of that may grab your attention, as “will be” almost sounds as if that status of being “blameless and holy” is something still to come, something to strive for, something to be attained at some point in the future. 

That view would certainly fit the common ideas people have of good people getting into heaven. It’s based on the idea that good people would do – and keep doing – good things. Then, at the end of the day when their time is up, God would sit down with them for what amounts to a sort of performance review to determine if they’re in or not. So long as they have a strong enough track record, they’ll be fine. It’s no surprise then, that since we all imagine ourselves tending to have a pretty good track record in our own minds, replaying the “best-of’s” and the highlights of our lives, we’re rather confident that we’ve got nothing to fear.

The idea of eventually arriving at being “blameless and holy” might also seem to be supported by Paul’s own words, even in these very verses. After all, a faith that is “lacking,” love that can “increase and overflow,” and hearts that can be “strengthen[ed]” would imply that “holy” hasn’t quite been achieved yet.

So which is it? Are we holy right now, or is holiness a status that is arrived at by putting in the appropriate time and effort? How do we ensure that we’re blameless and holy on that final day?

Both can be true. We can be holy right now, and we can also be becoming holy. Now that doesn’t mean that we’re following in the footsteps of the world that says truth is relative and subjective, and that we can all have our very different truths, even when those contradict each other. There’s a difference between each of our individual constructs of truth as we drum it up in our own respective worlds and what we’d call a paradox in Scripture. Our subjective truths have no backing or support from anything authoritative – they are based purely on our own personal thoughts or feelings. The Bible, however, as the Word of God, is authoritative.

So when the Bible speaks both ways, so do we. And the Bible does. It says that we can grow in our faith. Nearly half of what Paul writes in the New Testament is Paul addressing Christian living and spiritual growth. It lines up with exactly what he is writing in these verses, encouraging growth in our spiritual lives. Moreover, we personally know how necessary it is for us to grow as Christians in all areas of our lives. Yes, we are saints, but on this side of heaven we are saints who still sin and are still a work in progress. We want to grow and mature in our daily responsibilities and vocations, and rightly so!

But the Bible also speaks about our status before God. God calls us holy, and he calls us holy right now, in the present, as we are in this very moment. “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). “And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

We notice two things in just these two passages – and we could have mentioned many other passages as well. First, there are no “ifs” in these verses. There is no carrot-on-a-stick holiness that is held out to us if we meet certain conditions or criteria. Holiness isn’t conditional.

Second, the tense of the verbs speaks volumes! We “are” holy because we “have been made” holy. There is no “someday down the road if you play your cards right.” There is no “once this happens, then…” There is only who we are because of what happened to make us that way.

So how does it feel? You are holy right now! And it is because God declares you to be holy right now that you also strive to live holy lives right now as you grow in holiness.

Perhaps one of the clearer Bible passages that ties our status as holy before God with our call to continue growing in holiness is found in Colossians 3:12. “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience” (Colossians 3:12). Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience aren’t the prerequisites to achieving holiness; rather, they are how our holiness is expressed as we grow in them and put them on display in our Christian lives. You are holy right now. And you are growing in holiness right now.

But if this holiness isn’t something we arrive at or achieve on our own, then how does it happen?

The answer is Christmas. Holiness left heaven and entered earth to bring holiness with him. If holiness is required to get into heaven, but holiness cannot be achieved outside of heaven, then holiness had to be brought to us. And to be brought to us, God had to come to us, which is exactly what happened at Christmas.

When you assemble enough things over the years, at some point you’ve experienced the frustration of arriving at a dead end. You can’t move forward because something is missing. You retrace all of the previous steps in the directions to make sure you didn’t use the wrong piece in the wrong place, and confirm that each step was properly followed. Just as you are getting ready either to disassemble everything and return it or contact customer service, convinced a piece was missing, in trots one of your children, caught up in some imaginary game, or possibly pretending to “help” you, and you notice they have in their hand the piece you need to finish the assembly. Now that you have that piece, you finish putting everything together.

Jesus is that piece. Only he is much more than a missing piece to our holiness (as if we were somehow almost there and he just needed to come in and supply what was missing)! He isn’t just a missing piece; he is the whole thing! He IS our holiness, through and through. We cannot have holiness apart from him. 

And for him to be able to be our holiness, he had to provide our holiness by entering a holi-less world and bringing it with him. On Christmas, he was born to bring his holiness into a holi-less world. His perfect life in perfect obedience to God’s perfect law resulted in our holiness.

Therefore, dear friends, because of what Jesus came to do in the past, we know that we already have what we need when he comes again in the future on that Last Day. By faith in Jesus, we have holiness. His holiness. Yes, we have all that we need to be “blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones” (v.13). Christmas can’t get any more real than that!

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Jesus-Centered Worship

Holy Father,
Sundays are sacred. Today I ask you to help me stay focused on what makes worship so special: worship is where you give me Jesus. Where Jesus is, there is peace for troubled hearts and rest for weary souls. Where your Word is present, there also the work of Jesus is present. Therefore, as I hear the Word of God read and preached, as the Word of God is spoken and sung, as I see the promises from the Word of God attached to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, help me see Jesus and his saving work for me. Refresh and recharge my soul. Let the words and works of our Savior Jesus be proclaimed clearly and considerably in Christian churches everywhere, nurturing and strengthening the faith of many.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Live While Watchfully Waiting

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(Mark 13:26-37)

While it may make the productivity proponents among us cringe to hear it, there are areas of life in which complacency or indifference isn’t really the end of the world. Deciding where to eat on date night is not a life or death decision – food will be consumed regardless of where it will be. This or that color of paint on the wall will not result in visitors black-listing your home due to poor color choices. The dirty dishes washed before bed or first thing in the morning are still getting washed. It’s pretty harmless to be indifferent or complacent about these kinds of things. 

But that same approach doesn’t work if you’re planning a trip when there are only so many flights on the date or around the time you need to travel. Complacency may result in pretty significant changes to your travel plans or itinerary. The same attitude about a job opening could easily result in someone else jumping on it and getting hired before you. Indifference toward your retirement plans may find you without any actual plan when the time comes, leaving you working right up until the day you die. So there are also areas in life when being indifferent or complacent can leave you reeling.  

If you’re picking up what Jesus is laying down in these verses from Mark 13, one of the areas of life where indifference is not an option is being ready for Jesus’ return on the Last Day. Yes, some of you have been hearing this type of warning for as long as you can remember, having grown up in the church and being used to the ongoing warnings to make sure you’re ready for the last day when Jesus returns. With each passing year, and then decade, it becomes easier and easier to tune out, because Jesus still hasn’t returned.

Of course, this underscores precisely why Jesus gives the warning! He knows that the more time passes as he is patiently waiting for more of the spiritual lost to come to repentance, the more inclined we are toward indifference. So all the more reason – not less – for us to heed his warning. We do well to listen to his words: “What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’” (v. 37). The time is coming when Jesus will return, so let us live while watchfully waiting.

To highlight the immanence of Jesus’ return, he gives us a botany lesson. “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door” (v.28-29). Jesus could well have used any other type of tree or plant to make his point. When you pay attention to the stages of growth, they indicate what is coming next. A sprout that sports leaves is maturing. A fruit tree that buds is going to blossom, and after it blossoms it’s getting ready to bear fruit. We can see what’s coming next by paying attention to what the signs are showing us right now.

So it is with Jesus’ return. Since he has provided numerous signs that would precede his return on the Last Day, and we’ve seen and continue seeing those signs take place, his return is immanent. So what does it look like for us to live while watchfully waiting in the meantime? It involves working wisely. Working wisely includes 1) focusing on what lasts, 2) guarding against what doesn’t, and 3) staying on task. 

Focus on what lasts

Jesus basically covers one and two with a contrasting statement. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (v.31). Did you catch what lasts from Jesus’ words? Do you see what is never a waste of our time to focus on? If Jesus’ words will never pass away, doesn’t it make sense that they would receive much of our attention?

Not only will his words never waste away, but their power will always be present for us to take advantage of. When your sin’s guilt, shame, and embarrassment have had their way with you and you can’t shake them no matter how hard you try to make it right, turn to the words that will never pass away. The prophet Isaiah provides a beautiful example of such words: “But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail” (Isaiah 51:6).

Do those words from Isaiah help you appreciate why one of the best questions you can ask yourself when facing nearly and struggle is, “What has my time with Jesus in his Word been looking like?” If Jesus’ words will never pass away, and his words point us to who we are and what we have in him because of what he has done for us, why would we possibly start anywhere else? Rather than working backwards through a process of elimination after trying everything else that hasn’t worked and then finally turning to the Word, let me provide you with a helpful cheat code: start with the Word! Start with the powerful words that will never pass away. Focus on what lasts.

Guard against what doesn’t

That Word, which will never pass away, is unlike everything else. “Heaven and earth will pass away…” (v.31). Working wisely isn’t just focusing on what lasts, but also guarding against what doesn’t. To do that successfully, we have to be really honest with ourselves about what so easily gets our attention.

Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to do just that. As loved ones gather together and at some point take the time to share what they’re thankful for, take note of how many of the blessings mentioned are physical, temporal blessings that fall under the “will pass away” category. Now, it’s never wrong to be grateful for those things at all! However, when our expressions of gratitude default to what passes away rather than what will never pass away, that may be an indicator of some priorities that need adjusting.

Moreover, if we conclude that an unbalanced and unhealthy focus on what is passing away isn’t really that big a deal, then we have really failed to capture the tone of Jesus’ whole teaching here. For what else does Jesus have in mind by his repetition of warnings like “Be on guard! Be alert” (v.33) and “keep watch” (v.34 & 35) and “do not let him find you sleeping” (v.36) and “Watch!” (v.37)?

Warnings aren’t issued when nothing could go wrong. No one says, “Watch out, your grandkid is coming in for a big hug!” or “Be alert, someone is about to give you a gift!” Warnings are issued when there is potential danger or risk involved. Jesus’ warning is to guard against attachments to and distractions from the “heaven and earth” stuff that is on its way out. So while we’re focusing on what lasts, it’s equally important that we’re guarding against what doesn’t. 

Stay on task

To help us in both of these areas, working wisely also includes staying on task. Jesus compared our watchful waiting to a man leaving his servants in charge while going away for a time. “It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch” (v.34). His absence doesn’t mean an extended break or vacation for his servants; quite the opposite! Instead, they were to take care of things, “each with their assigned task.” You, Christian, have been assigned tasks to tend to until Jesus returns. 

That is to say, the Christian life is not one of spiritual unemployment. When Jesus paid a dear price for you, you were brought into God’s family by his grace. You were hired not for your qualifications, and not because you deserved some amazing compensation package, but by grace. And by grace you were paid salvation and eternity up front. They’ve already been credited to your account. We are saved by grace, not by works

But we are saved for works. As Christians, we are not sluggards. We are not slouches. Just because we don’t run ourselves ragged like much of the world busying itself with chasing after what will pass away doesn’t mean we check out and sit on our thumbs all day. Quite the opposite!

We have every reason to work harder than anyone else who only has this world to live for! Your work matters because you are the lips and the ears of Jesus, you are his hands and feet. You are how he gets his work done in this passing world, so work as hard as you can for him before the owner of the house returns on the Last Day.

Christians often assume the most important work they can do is the work within the church. To be sure, that work matters, too. To have leaders to keep us all moving in the right direction, to manage our finances and pay our bills, to teach in our classrooms, to edify our worship with their musical and creative gifts, to roll out the welcome mats every Sunday, to manage the kitchen and meals, by greeting, by handiwork, through overseeing technology, coordinating events, facilitating Bible studies, etc. Yes, all of this and so much more is essential to the health and growth of any congregation, not just numerically, but more importantly, spiritually. This is all certainly included in the “assigned task(s)” of working wisely. 

Let’s widen our field of view, though. Let’s realize that each of us also has more than our share of assigned tasks to carry out for the kingdom right where we are in our own little station in life. When you clock in at work, you do so as a Christian, so let that be clearly known to others as the light of your faith shines so brightly that it cannot be ignored. As a student, you carry out the assigned task God has given you by studying hard, participating in class, and helping to encourage your classmates and show respect to your teachers whenever possible. As a parent, you have more influence on your child’s spiritual growth than any pastor or teacher ever will have, so carry out your assigned task with intention, highlighting Jesus daily. As a friend, you carry out your assigned task to others by listening patiently, speaking the truth in love, and being deliberate about drawing others – believers and nonbelievers – closer to Jesus. There is no shortage of work to be done ahead of Jesus’ return, so let’s make sure we stay on task.

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory” (v.26).

Imagine, for a moment, just how amazing that day will be. Our Savior, arriving once again on the scene, visible for all to see, without question will be the single most spectacular event the world will ever get to witness. And all of that glorious display and all of that fanfare will be… for you.

Knowing all of that is coming, and knowing how supremely superior your eternity will be from that point on, what place does complacency have in our lives? There’s far too much to live for right now as we watchfully wait, so let’s make as much of a difference as we can with the time we have left by working wisely.

Focus on what lasts.

Guard against what doesn’t.

Stay on task. 

Live Free from the Fear of Judgment

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(Hebrews 9:24-28)

With the exception of the occasional scary movie, most of us don’t like being afraid. The husband who gets a kick out of surprise scaring his wife because he knows how much she hates it is liable to be on the receiving end of a different kind of kick if he’s not careful. Each of us also has different phobias and fears that can make us anxious just thinking about them. As we age, our fears may have less to do with Hollywood or halloween type scares and more to do with real life realities of what could go wrong for us. Kids getting injured or sick. Losing a job. Going to the doctor to face the symptoms I’ve been dealing with. Not having enough financially to carry me through my later years. 

Lingering somewhere in that list of fears is the fear of judgment. Someone once described it as if we’re all living in our own little courtroom, imagining judgments being rendered against us. We are afraid of being judged for what we wear or who we associate with. We’re afraid of being found out we’re a fake or fraud on some level. We’re afraid of… the list goes on.

But we’re doing those very same things to others. From the first moment you see a person, you make a judgment about them – what they’re wearing, how they speak, how much they weigh, what they eat, etc. We are constantly being scrutinized and judged by others – and doing the same thing right back. 

There’s a different kind of judgment that all of us will also face – one that will determine our eternity. The writer of the book we call Hebrews pointed out that “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (9:27). His statement is consistent with what we hear in the rest of Scripture: “Christ Jesus… will judge the living and the dead…” (2 Timothy 4:1). “Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” (John 12:48). “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).

Judgment will happen. Each of us will face it. The question is, do we have reason to fear it? How can we know if we have to be afraid or not? It depends on whether or not we know the verdict of that judgment.

Would any of the fears mentioned previously exist if you somehow knew the thing you feared wasn’t going to happen? Of course not! If you knew in advance that the outcome you feared wasn’t going to happen, then you’d have no fear! You wouldn’t be restrained by the straightjacket of anxiety or worry. You’d be free to live without those cares or concerns of uncertainty weighing you down. No fear! 

What I’ve just described isn’t a guarantee I can make to you regarding your fit, your friends, or your family, etc., but it’s a 100% guarantee I can make regarding your judgment before God – because God has already revealed the verdict to us: you aren’t guilty! No fear!

The writer to the Hebrews (we don’t know who he is) uses Old Testament (OT) practices and their fulfillment in Jesus to help illustrate how certain we can be when it comes to our judgment. The OT was rich with rites and ceremonies and all sorts of things that served not to accomplish anything in and of themselves, but rather to illustrate or point ahead to what/who would absolutely accomplish something: Jesus. So the writer compares a number of these historical places and practices with their fulfillment in Jesus, so that in him we may have confidence and certainty.

He first points to something very relatable for those who attend church each week. While we are more familiar with just referring to that whole building as “church,” the particular space within a church building where people gather for worship is referred to as the sanctuary. It is where worshipers gather to come into the presence of God. It represents the space where God dwells. This is even reflected by people using the phrase “God’s house” when talking about the church building.

God’s people have been gathering at God’s house, his sanctuary, ever since he gave his people very specific directions for building a tabernacle (essentially a portable church) after he delivered them from slavery in Egypt. As they wandered through the wilderness on their way to the land God had promised them, they repeatedly set up and took down the tabernacle, the physical place depicting God’s dwelling among his people. Eventually, after they arrived in the land God set apart from them, in the area of what is now modern-day Israel, they replaced the temporary tent tabernacle with a beautiful permanent temple (although it would later be completely destroyed by the Romans). 

It is in comparison to this sanctuary that the writer points out how different Jesus was. Jesus didn’t need a sanctuary, because where the sanctuary represented man being in the presence of God, Jesus didn’t need a likeness or a symbol; he literally returned to the place all of those religious spaces represented: the presence of God in heaven. “For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence” (v.24). Jesus wasn’t the fake thing or the figurative thing, but the real deal, returning to heaven where he belonged.

And take note of the “why” wrapped up in those verses that is really the author’s whole point: “for us.” Jesus appeared before God not in some building, but in heaven itself, “for us.” What was he doing there for us? The writer goes on to explain.

Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (v.25-26).

Before Jesus, those who served as priests would take their turns offering sacrifices that illustrated a very important point God was impressing upon his people: sin comes at a cost. In order for sin to be paid for, blood has to be shed. Of course the animal sacrifices of sheep and cattle never paid for a single sin. But, they served as powerful illustrations pointing ahead to the ultimate sacrifice that involved the shedding of blood that would pay for the sins of the world – the sacrifice of Jesus at his crucifixion.

So unlike those priests, who carried out their responsibilities again and again, including the once-a-year entrance into the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, Jesus didn’t need to repeat his sacrifice. His one-time sacrifice on the cross “for all” (there’s that phrase again) was sufficient to pay for all sin for all sinners of all time. 

Why is that such a big deal? Why does it matter? The news of Jesus dying on the cross is not likely something new to you. And maybe you’ve even heard the reason: to pay for our sins. But it is nonetheless possible that the significance behind all of this and its meaning for you have remained somewhat foggy. So let the writer to the Hebrews clear it up for us.

“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (v. 27-28). We all have that in common: we will die and face judgment. We also have something else in common: Jesus was sacrificed to take away the sins that would make us dread judgment.

But you might notice that the writer wrote, “take away the sins of many.” Why not “all?” To be sure, he did take away the sins of all (remember what was written in the verse prior that included everyone!). However, those who through unbelief reject his payment of sins will face a different verdict on that last day. So not “all” will benefit from Christ’s sacrifice, even though it covered all people; only the “many” who believe it can be confident of the “not guilty” verdict.

They know that when Jesus comes a second time, it will be to finalize our salvation and sweep us out of this broken world into the new world waiting for us – one that will not only be without sin or sorrow, but without any judgement, either. So living like we’ll live forever means that we get to live free of the fear of judgment. 

With the holidays coming, you may be looking ahead to visits from certain family members or friends. There may be, though, one or two among them you aren’t looking forward to, or are perhaps are even dreading. The uncle with the off-color comments or offensive jokes. The friend who insists on polarizing political conversations. The ardent atheist or blowhard Christian more interested in arguing than in seeking to under.

Sorry – I can’t do much about those individuals or any judgment coming from them. But I can assure you that you have no need to dread that final visit when Jesus returns on the Last Day. Those who believe the words of the writer to the Hebrews already know what the verdict will be: not guilty. And you know what that means? You have nothing to fear. 

Live a Life of Startling Generosity

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(Mark 12:38-44)

When you see the brightly colored “Caution” or “Slow” or sign posted as while driving on the highway, you know that means there is a potential danger or risk ahead, so you pay attention to the warning. You do the same thing as you are navigating through a store or mall and see the yellow sandwich sign that alerts you with a “Caution: Wet Floor.” These warnings are intended to alert you and keep you safe from injury or danger.

Jesus gave a warning sign to his listeners. He told them to “watch out for the teachers of the law” (v.38). But why? Were they a threat to his disciples? Jesus didn’t follow up his warning by pointing out any specific false teachings that the teachers of the law were promoting. Jesus didn’t appear to be emphasizing any physical threat that they posed, at least not here, and not to his disciples. He didn’t alert them to any death threats or assassination plots. So why were they supposed to watch out for the teachers of the law?

So that the disciples wouldn’t become them. The overall picture Jesus paints is that of a group concerned with optics and outward appearance. They were more worried about how others saw them than they were about how God saw them. After all, if they were going to enjoy religion’s version of celebrity status, they had to look the part. The upscale clothing, the special treatment, the constant performance – it was no small thing to pull it all off! They couldn’t dare come off looking like, well… a poor widow, for example. How serious is Jesus’ warning? “These men will be punished most severely” (v.39). Those words really require much explanation, do they!?

It’s a good reminder for us. Yes, we know and believe that it isn’t our outward works, but our faith in Jesus alone which saves. Yes, we know and believe that every sin has been forgiven. These are most certainly true.

However, while all our sins have been forgiven and we are no longer slaves to sin, there’s that lingering part of the old us that will always be attracted to sin and still tempted by it. And perhaps no other sin is more attractive to us than pride. Jesus was essentially warning his disciples to watch out so that their religious piety isn’t corrupted by religious pride. This warning is especially appropriate regarding the topic of giving – especially giving generously – so that we don’t allow our generosity to become tainted by pride and its desire to be recognized.

While Jesus began this section of his teaching referring to the teachers of the law and mentioning the rich people and their gifts, these weren’t the only ones who would serve as his teaching illustrations. There was also a widow. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some more details about the widow? Something that could cement for us that her gift was purely given, cheerfully and willingly, and prompted solely by her love for Jesus, whom she knew loved her so deeply? When we come up with the deep theological questions in Scripture and wonder about the details of different accounts in the Bible, I can’t recall anybody ever asking about more of the background on the widow from this account. But would’t that be helpful if we could get more of a snapshot of her life, something that would fit more neatly with the rest of the Bible’s teaching on giving and generosity? Would’t that be something?

Perhaps we don’t need it. Perhaps Jesus is allowing us a sneak a peek into the window of her life by contrasting her so sharply first with the teachers of the law, and then with the rich people throwing in large amounts in their offerings.

She obviously wasn’t concerned about the optics – “Hey everyone, redirect your eyes away from the piles of cash everyone else is putting in the offering boxes and get a load of these two copper coins I’m about to drop in!” Neither did she make excuses or promises to be more generous down the road when she might have more to give. No, her gift was quietly and generously given, for it was everything she had. And that kind of gift is the kind of gift that faith gives. Not to be seen or recognized, but simply because that’s what faith does.

Jesus commended her. “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (v.43-44). 

What can we learn from Jesus’ commendation of the widow and his thoughts on generosity? Generosity is not about your money; it’s about your heart. Admittedly, I don’t imagine it’s the first time you’ve ever heard that. Giving and generosity are not matters of amounts, but are a matter of where our heart is at. So when giving and generosity are a struggle for the believing child of God, it is rarely because we are unaware of the fact that it’s a heart issue. Instead, it has more to do with our inability or even refusal to diagnose the heart issues unique to each of us. So let’s work through some of those.

Since no one likes junk mail, whether it’s in your physical mailbox or your email inbox, let’s refer to some of these deceptions that can keep us from growing in the grace of giving as “generosity junk mail.” If God is wants to change our hearts in regard to giving (remember, giving is always a heart issue), then we have to get good at identifying the junk that fills the inbox of our hearts so that we stop believing it and perpetuating it. Let’s consider a few of the more common ones.

    1. “Offerings (or “treasures”) aren’t the only thing God cares about – he also wants us to give him our time and talents.”

    I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, that’s not wrong; it’s true that God also wants our time and talents to be used to serve him.” Technically, you’re correct. But I have to point out the problem with how that statement is used. You know who doesn’t ever make it? Generous people. What I mean is, while it’s true that God has given us so much more than just financial blessings to manage and to be generous with, there is typically a reason people are quick to redirect to time and talents: because they struggle with being generous financially. And again, not because it’s an issue of dollar amounts, but of the heart. So be careful before you share such a statement, and do a little digging into your own heart to make sure you aren’t expressing it as a spiritual sleight of hand to hide your reluctance to grow in the grace of giving.

    Here’s another piece of generosity junk mail we need to discard:

    2. “I’ll give more when I have more.”

    Look back at the widow again. If she had taken that approach to giving, Jesus wouldn’t have this story to tell! She would have waited until those two copper coins added up to something much more. Instead, she gave what she had – all of it. When is the last time you gave all that you had to God? It’s been awhile for me – like never!

    Here’s a question to consider that lines up with some of the promises God gives in Scripture. While we’re sitting back on the “I’ll give more when I have more,” mindset, what if God is saying to himself, “I’ll bless him with more once he starts giving from what I’ve already given.”? So while we’re waiting on God to bless us with more to give, he’s waiting on us to give right now so that he can bless it. 

    This next one is a piece of generosity junk mail that is probably more common outside the church, but Christians still struggle with it, too.

    3. “All the church cares about is money.”

    It’s a statement typically spoken by those who refuse to acknowledge their own unhealthy attachment to money. It’s not easy for them to let go of it, so they turn the church into the bad guy, and whenever giving is mentioned, it’s blown out of proportion as “all that’s ever talked about.”

    To provide a balanced perspective, however, certainly churches and pastors have mishandled or mismanaged that trust; of course it has. And, there are certainly some who resort to legalism rather than gospel-generated giving. But these churches don’t represent all or even most churches by any means. So let’s discard that piece of generosity junk mail.

    And one last piece of generosity junk mail:

    4. “I just don’t have enough after all my expenses to give more than I’m giving.”

    And you never will. This junk mail exposes two possible issues: one, a spending issue, or two, a priority issue. When is the last time you’ve tracked your expenses and evaluated where unnecessary or frivolous spending was present? Perhaps that should be more of a cause for concern than it is. Could our “expenses” include purchases that we could still live quite comfortably without?

    The other issue with this attitude is that it turns giving upside down. When we give our left overs we’ll never have enough left over to give more. That’s because giving needs to be realigned to the top of the list. When giving comes first, we see how God keeps his promise to provide for everything else that we need. Until giving tops the list of priorities, it’s impossible for us to rise up to the level of being a generous giver. 

    As believers, we can have open conversations about giving, because we know that we’re the ones God is trying to grow through this process. We also know that the widow wasn’t the only one who gave everything. Jesus did the same thing, but on a scale that impacted far more people. With her two copper coins, she “put in everything.”

    So did Jesus. Jesus went a step further and “put in everything” with his whole life. He went all in. He didn’t hold back. Jesus gave it all by giving his all.

    “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). There is nothing of greater value that could ever be given than Jesus’ life, and he gave it up for you and me. The widow’s two copper coins were her “everything”: Jesus’ life was his “everything,” and he generously gave it so that we could benefit eternally; so that we can live forever. 

    Let’s live right now like we’ll live forever and use what he gives us here and now so that we can help as many others as possible live forever. Let’s discard the junk mail and give with startling generosity.

    DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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    For Our Veterans

    Compassionate Lord,
    Sadly, on this day of remembering our veterans, we acknowledge how often and how easily they are also forgotten. Many who are struggling – often as a direct result of their service to our country – do not receive the care they need, whether it be physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. Provide them with those much-need resources, as well as the knowledge and ability to access them. Extend to them the healing and support they require to overcome any struggles or setbacks they are facing. Through all of these outlets of compassion, may they know how much they are valued and appreciated.

    Thank you, Lord, for the sacrificial spirit of our veterans. They stand out in a me-first society that is more inclined toward individualism than what is best for the greater good. They were and are willing to submit and follow orders that frequently result(ed) in the displacement and relocation of their families to different states and even other countries. Being deployed and apart from spouses and children meant many family milestones were missed. Finally, many also faced the cruel tragedies of conflicts and battles, and saw and experienced unforgettable anguish and trauma. May we always be grateful to our veterans for all of these sacrifices, and for so many other sacrifices they’ve made of which we are unaware. Bless them with your favor for their service today and always.  

    In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.