Tag: JEsus

You’re Nothing, Special

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(1 Corinthians 1:26-31)

If you’ve never seen The Lego Movie, or it’s been a while since you have, it’s time to do yourself a favor and watch it. The main character, Emmet, lives a very basic life, until he discovers the “Piece of Resistance.” Unbeknownst to him, a prophecy declared the finder of this item to be “the Special. Over the course of the movie, Emmet is joined by Master Builders (those with the ability to build without needing any instructions), who help him face the villain, Lord Business, whose goal is to eventually control everything by freezing it into place with his ultimate weapon, the “Kragle.”

What is noticeable about Emmet is this: that there’s nothing noticeable about Emmet. He’s as plain as can be. There’s nothing special about him. By society’s standards, he doesn’t stand out. He’s just average – the type of guy others would easily walk all over on their way to achieving the world’s version of success. He’s naive about how ordinary he is until he sees video of others describing him, each of whom concludes that there’s nothing special about him. That realization presents the ongoing conflict throughout the movie, which seeks to reconcile how a nobody can be “the Special.”

What’s humorous in an animated movie is actually the reality for every believer. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul emphasizes two truths that seem to be at odds with each other, but which can actually stand side by side in Christ. We are nothing. We are special.

It is the first of those paradoxical statements that has prompted many to lobby against Christianity. They view it as a source of child abuse or trauma, and argue that Christians shouldn’t be able to “brainwash” children, because it causes them emotional harm and diminishes their self-worth and self-confidence. 

Perhaps that’s how they would interpret these words from Paul: “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth” (v.26). While it may sound as if Paul is talking down to his readers, he is simply reminding them of all of the merit, achievements, accomplishments, value, importance, etc. that every person naturally brings before God on their own, which is… none. Nothing. God didn’t come for those who think they’re something apart from him, but for those who know the truth: our sinful self fails to bring anything of value before God, and instead brings only that which is detestable. That may be a hard word.

But is the world’s alternative more effective? When children are raised with an inflated sense of self, when they can do no wrong, when parents convince them that they are the top award getter in every category, do those children turn out better? 

What happens when they aren’t selected as the class valedictorian? What happens when someone else is awarded the scholarship? What happens when they don’t get hired or get passed over for the promotion by someone more qualified? What happens when their perfect marriage ends in divorce? If raised with an inflated sense of self, if quarantined from failure, if shielded from any adversity, they end up with not just a jaded view of the world, but with question marks about themselves. 

But Paul’s words provide the proper framework where such disillusionment doesn’t exist. He makes a point of being brutally honest with us from the start, so that we don’t in any way misunderstand why God would choose us. He explains it in more detail. “But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him” (v.27-29). 

Aha! If God wanted to make it clear to man that man could never do right by God on his own, here’s how you do it! Choose the nothings and the nobodies over the somethings and the somebodies! In other words, God passes over those the world might consider to be ideal candidates when picking his team, and chooses the least qualified, so that there’s no question about who’s most deserving – no one! Everyone equally has this in common: nothing to brag about. 

How much does this go against the way we naturally operate in our world? We are preoccupied with demonstrating to others that we’re something. We need others to know that we’re not just average. We’re not nobodies. We’re not like everyone else. We’re special. And we are determined to let others know.

We post filtered and AI-filtered photos because the real us is too… average. The new car isn’t just a matter of a midlife crisis, but a reminder to others that we’re doing fine financially. The trip is less about where I am traveling and more about others knowing that I’m traveling. I share the amazing stuff my company does, not because I’m talking them up so much as I am letting everyone know that I have an amazing job. My kids are in this, that, and the other thing, while yours are glued to screens. Whatever it takes – just so long as you remember that I’m somebody.

But what do such efforts really demonstrate? Don’t they reveal an inner disbelief in God’s own words? Don’t they express a denial of what God has clearly stated about us – that we were “foolish,” “weak,” “lowly,” “despised,” “things that are not?” God says we were all of those things (in addition to calling us dead, blind, enemies elsewhere in Scripture!), yet our lives are a constant hamster wheel of “I’ll show you how wrong you are, God.” 

You may think it’s harmless or inconsequential that we operate this way, with this attitude, but it’s much more serious than that. It is potentially damning. Why? Because what is the root cause of such thinking? “There’s not really that much wrong with me. I’m really not so bad. I don’t really need help or saving from anyone else – not even you, God. So, you can keep your Jesus, and I’ll just keep on showing in one way or another that I’m not really the type of loser he came for.” Is there any more dangerous place we could ever be than there???

Then stop pushing back against Paul’s words and repent! Acknowledge what he says about you and about me is true. Even on our best day, we don’t come close to attaining the perfection necessary to categorize ourselves as special.

Instead, in faith, we can step off the hamster wheel and stop trying to counter our insecurities by proving we’re something to others. God doesn’t need you to be something before he can work in you. God is the one who makes us something in the first place.

Take that reality one more step and realize what it means if we can’t ever achieve God’s impossible standards. If we could, then he would be obligated to pick us for his team. He would have to, because we would have met the expected requirements.

But, since no one (aside from our Substitute, Jesus!) can ever meet those impossible standards, then it can only mean one thing that I was brought into his family of believers: he chose me! God has chosen me because, well… he wanted to. He loves me! He wasn’t forced or obligated to write my name in his Book of Life; rather, he chose me.

I am not a believer because he saw potential in me. I am not a believer because God knew I’d make a difference in his kingdom. I’m not a believer because I’m an all-around good guy.

I’m a believer, and you are a believer, because God chose you. And in doing so, he displays to the rest of the unbelieving world that God brings us into his family of faith, not because of our own effort or merit, but because of his grace. And here is what that grace means for us: “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (v.30).

Is there any achievement you can unlock that could ever confer on you any title greater than those three – righteous, holy, and redeemed? Never. But that is exactly what you are “in Christ Jesus.” Outside of Christ Jesus? Still “foolish, weak, lowly, despised, things that are not.” But in Christ Jesus? Righteous. Holy. Redeemed. 

Think about those three. Can they be improved upon? If you are already counted righteous, can you become more righteous? More holy? More redeemed? No! You already are those things in Christ. There is no need to level up, no more need to impress, no more need to prove. You are those things right now “in Christ Jesus.” You know what that makes you? Special! 

Look at the title of this post. Consider the phrase without the comma. “You’re nothing special.” You’re an Emmet. You don’t bring anything to the table. You don’t stand out. You’re average at best. You’re just… existing. 

But insert the comma, and now you have a God-given title and designation. Yes, it still reminds you of who you were on your own (nothing!), but now it also reveals how God views you, how he sees you, who you are to him: you are special.

Never forget what accounts for the difference: the comma. The comma makes all the difference, doesn’t it? Well, the comma is Christ. And that means we have something to brag about. “Therefore, as it is written: ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord’” (v.31). Not you, not me, but the Lord, who chose those who were nothing and calls us special. 

Do you know what Emmet ends up doing in The Lego Movie? I won’t spoil the ending, but you can probably imagine. While the movie is imaginary, your life isn’t. You are not. You are very much righteous, holy, and redeemed. That qualifies you to do very special things in Christ’s kingdom. If we think otherwise, it’s only because we’re stuck thinking of who we were on our own and not who we are in Christ Jesus. 

But when we remember who we are in Christ Jesus, the sky’s the limit. We can do amazing things for his kingdom. Rather, he can do amazing things through us. Emmet is a made-up Lego character in a fictional movie.

You are not. You are real. You are special. What special things will God do through you? 

Light More Candles

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(Matthew 4:12-23)

It’s one of those quotes that has been attributed to so many different individuals that it’s quite uncertain who the original author is. I am also quite certain I’ve referenced the quote at some point in a previous sermon or post. Perhaps you’ve heard it: “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” If you’re really concerned about determining who ought to be credited with the saying, feel free to research it and let me know. For my part, and for the purpose of this post, I’m more interested in seeing the quote put into practice than I am in knowing who said it. 

Isn’t light what the world needs more of? I don’t think there would be too much pushback if I shared the opinion that the world is a dark place. Regardless of what your views on anything are, you won’t have any trouble on any given day coming across a story or headline that has you convinced things are going in the wrong direction. The world is going down the toilet. The world is dark.

What’s especially sneaky about the darkness is that we tend to get used to it. It’s called dark adaptation. You’ve experienced this when you’ve left a lighted room and entered a dark or poorly lit room. At first, it’s difficult to see where anything is. In a relatively short time, though, one’s eyes adjust and become accustomed to the dark. We can see things clearly enough to get around, and we get used to it.

You’ve experienced the same thing with sin. At first it shocked you. Now… not so much. Initially, it was absolutely wrong. Then, after a while, it became more of a gray area. It was clearly sinful way back when, but if it has become so common and normalized today, can it still be so bad? We get used to the dark. We get used to sin. 

But getting rid of the darkness isn’t a matter of somehow decreasing the dark. You can’t “put out” the darkness. You can’t take the dark away or remove it. Darkness only disappears in the presence of light. When light is removed, that’s when darkness results.

A piece of paneled artwork in a room at our church depicts this. As your eyes scan from left to right, you notice the piece of art starts out completely covered in a golden light. There is no darkness. That was the world as God created it. But when is the darkness introduced? When sin enters the world.

That may give the impression that the darkness, which dominates the nine middle art panels until the final one, is the introduction of sin in a fallen world. In one sense, yes, but as you consider what sin does, what really happened? The light of holiness and perfection was removed. When that was all the world knew, it was covered in light. But once sin entered, the light of holiness and perfection exited the world. 

But, throughout the artwork, a thread of light is woven in the darkness. This is the good news of the gospel, or the promise of purity and perfection restored. The initial step in that promise has been carried out by Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, which is reflected in the center of the artwork. The final step, when that promise of purity and perfection will be fully delivered – and the golden light with it – will take place in the Revelation imagery when Jesus returns on the Last Day. When he does, complete light is restored, as it is in the final panel of the art piece. The new world ushered in by our Savior will not know darkness because the light of purity and perfection will be all there is.

So as we anticipate that radiant renewal, how do we handle the darkness in the meantime? What is the solution to the darkness we see in the world? When light is reintroduced, darkness disappears. We don’t “fix” the darkness; we shine the light.

Isaiah’s prophecy revealed when that light was going to be introduced into the world. “Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (v.15-16). The light had come into the world at Jesus’ birth, and it was now beginning to get brighter with Jesus’ ministry. The light would shine its brightest in the darkest moment of Jesus’ death on Good Friday and in the full splendor of the empty tomb. The Resurrection would ensure that the darkness would be defeated. 

But the Messiah didn’t just come to save; he came to proclaim. The Messiah had a message: the gospel. If no one had ever heard the message of the Messiah’s salvation, who would have benefited? No one! The message had to be heard. A fully operational light switch with a working light bulb still needs to be turned on to be effective. So it is with the message of the Messiah’s salvation – it needs to be heard and believed to be effective.

So it wasn’t just the Messiah, but a Messiah with a message. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near’” (v.17). Jesus’ message was to turn around, to change your thinking, to realize that the way you were going on your own was only going to result in an eternal dead end. Why? Because a better way – the only way – had arrived. Jesus was there to shine the light of salvation for all. 

The word “repent” tends to get a bad reputation in our day and age. It evokes images of hard-line fundamentalist Christians, protesting and picketing, who seem to find more joy in condemning sinners than in pointing them to Christ.

But another way to think of that word repent in the context of light and dark is simply to acknowledge that we’re in the dark. When that happens, we realize how much we need – and appreciate – the light that has come.

So when we’ve become comfortable in the darkness of sin, we repent. When we see the darkness of sin around us, we repent for simply looking the other way or ignoring it. When we see the darkness of sin in our loved ones, we repent for permitting it. 

And then we’re ready for the light. We’re ready for the light of God’s grace in Jesus to dispel the darkness. We’re ready for the gospel to beam so brightly into our hearts that all darkness is gone. We’re ready for the good news that Jesus preached and carried out to reach our ears, too. Then we see the blessing of being in the light. We see how pleasing and pleasant it is to walk in the light. And we want it for others, too. 

See, it wasn’t just a Messiah with a message, but also a Messiah making messengers. Matthew makes that connection clear for us by first revealing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, then choosing to write about Jesus calling his disciples. “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” At once they left their nets and followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him” (v.18-22). The Messiah proclaimed his message, then he called his messengers. Why? So that more candles could be lit.

It’s easy for us to forget that we are called to light candles. We are messengers. We are the solution to the darkness. We are the ones to spread the light. We are the hope for a world blanketed in darkness. So let’s practice.

Someone brings up the latest crushing headline. We acknowledge it. We lament it. We share our frustration and disappointment over it. But then what? Do we just leave it at that? No, let’s get into the habit of asking each other, “How can we light a candle?” What can we do – because we are not powerless! – what can we do in response to the news just discussed? How can we light a candle to put out that darkness?

I can light a candle by praying right then and there. I can light a candle by ensuring that my children grow up in their faith and develop a relationship with Jesus that I wish I had started earlier. I can light a candle by bringing Jesus into the conversation with my friend who is going through a divorce. I can light a candle by making a difference in my neighborhood simply by getting to know my neighbors and building bridges to Jesus. I can light a candle by volunteering and supporting good causes in my community. There are countless ways for us to light a candle daily!

Call out the darkness. Identify it. Name it. But don’t waste your time or energy cursing it. Ask how you can light a candle instead. When that happens, darkness is replaced with light, and others can see its source – Jesus – more clearly. Brothers and sisters in Christ, “[we, too!] have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned” (Mt. 4:15). Let’s light more candles! 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Live in the Joy and Peace of Freedom in Christ

Precious Redeemer,
You have set me free! Because my sins have been forgiven and I am yours, I am free from the guilt of all my own wrongdoings. I am free from the terror of your wrath or retribution. I am free from being helplessly enslaved by Satan and his hold over me. I am free from the fear of dying and death. I am free from the futility of endlessly pursuing my own perfection or any other impossible standard that I’ve established in my mind. I am free! Grant me, I pray, the daily joy of believing it and the peace of mind that accompanies a life lived in freedom. And, as I embrace this freedom that is mine in and through Jesus Christ alone, use that to propel my whole life as a constant expression of gratitude and thankfulness in every way.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Let Your Light Shine Brightly

Light of the World,
You came into the world to shine the bright light of your glorious salvation through your holy life, your undeserved death, and your magnificent resurrection. Now, you rule over all things and work them out for the good of your church. Nevertheless, so many who are outside the realm of your kingdom still don’t know the light of salvation. Use me to light a candle and make your gracious forgiveness known. Shine the joy and certainty of salvation through me as I witness to others. No one needs to remain in the darkness of unbelief and sin, since you came to undo their permanent reign. Light up the world, and use me to do it.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Families with Little Ones in Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. But worship is a unique challenge for parents with little children. Thank you for the Christian parents who prioritize bringing their little ones to worship. Some mornings, before they even pull into the church parking lot, they have already experienced a day’s worth of stressful wear and tear. Provide them with the strength and determination to follow through with worship, and through it, rejuvenate their spirits. Fill the members of their church families with compassion to know when to lend a helping hand to frazzled moms and dazed dads. Direct congregations to consider how they might become more family-friendly. Give parents the discernment and discipline to raise their children to view worship with reverence and respect. Through these formative years in church, lay a solid foundation in children that paves the way for a lifetime of faithful worship attendance, so their hearts remain saturated by the gospel. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Enough

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(Colossians 2:6-15)

We want more. More of everything. We’re discouraged from “settling,” as more is usually reasonably within reach. Products and services are peddled effectively by promising more than whatever the competitor is offering. And why is it that we want more? Because we’re convinced we don’t have enough.

We don’t have enough saved up for retirement. We don’t have a big enough house or yard. We don’t have enough time to get that done today, too. We don’t have enough bandwidth to have that conversation. We don’t have enough… 

The words from Colossians smash that silliness of needing more by reminding us unequivocally that we have enough. Paul was writing to people who thought they needed more. They were being taught by others, “sure, you have Jesus – but you need more.” You need Jesus and this law or rite or ceremony. You need Jesus and to live this way or that way. You need Jesus and this enlightenment. Jesus is fantastic, but he isn’t enough. You need more. 

Paul responded with this: “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (v.9). Fullness. What does that word mean? It’s another way of saying “enough.” There isn’t “more,” because there isn’t even room for more. That’s what full means!

In this day and age, when gas pumps automatically shut off, it’s really hard to overflow your tank with gas. But it can still be done.

I know.

When you’re used to filling up your gas tank, you know how many gallons it can hold. Not too long ago, as I eyed the pump while refueling, I knew it was nowhere near how many gallons the tank could hold. So, I was getting frustrated that the stupid pump kept clicking off every time I insisted on pumping more into the tank. Finally, when a little gas started spilling out of the tank, I got the message. That’s when I remembered that the tank wasn’t near “E” like it is almost every time I fill up, but was already half full. So, once the tank was filled up, the pump was doing exactly what it was supposed to do: shut off. It was letting the operator know the tank is full. It cannot hold anymore. It will overflow if you keep pumping gas. 

If Christ is all the fullness of the Deity, then he lacks nothing. There isn’t room for more. He is fully God. He isn’t a stand-in. He isn’t merely a representative or a replica. He isn’t a part of the whole. He is the fullness of God in the flesh. All of God, living and breathing, walking and talking with mankind as man himself while here on earth. 

Since Christ is the fully-in-the-flesh God, he has actual power. “He is the head over every power and authority” (v.10b).

That kind of power means Christ can accomplish what he claims. Anything less than a fully-in-the-flesh God would leave us doubtful. We’d lack certainty. But because Jesus Christ is really God, he has real power.

Fans of the show, Survivor, have become accustomed to contestants constructing their own elaborate immunity necklaces. Through these fake immunity idols, they hope to fool other players into thinking they have real power. But as real as those necklaces may appear to other contestants, if they try to play them to avoid getting voted out of the game, they end up looking rather foolish. That’s because the fake necklace doesn’t offer real immunity from a vote. It’s merely a look-a-like – not the real thing. It has no real power.

But since Christ, the fullness of the Deity in bodily form, has real power, then you can be sure that “in Christ you have been brought to fullness” (v.10a). As such, we have all that we need, or “fullness” in Christ. If Christ were not fully God, not the real thing, then we could not be brought to fullness “in Christ.” Rather, we could only have been brought to fullness in Christ and this or that other thing. But not just “in Christ.”

Yet that’s exactly what Paul writes. We have been brought to fullness in Christ, because Christ is fully God. 

But while Jesus is enough, it isn’t enough to know about Jesus; we have to know how he achieved that fullness for us. Paul covered that. “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh…” (v.13a). You and I were dead. Dead in our sins.

People struggle to realize or believe the Bible’s teaching that no matter how good we may think we are, the reality is that we are dead. We are the walking dead. We’re dead in sin. Why is that so hard for us to naturally accept or believe? 

Yes, we are exceptional at downplaying and diminishing our sin as not being all that bad. But, there’s more: sometimes the last thing sin feels like is death. Right? In fact, if anyone reading this has sinned (and I think there are a few…), you know from experience that sin is so deceptively destructive because in the moment, we experience the rush of feeling very much alive!

After all, isn’t that what makes sin so appealing? It makes us think we’re missing out on something, and so we go through with it to experience whatever rush it promises, and then… then, we crash and die. Like a skydiver without a parachute, sin provides the rebellious rush of jumping out of the plane, but with no parachute. And the end result will always be the same: death.

The rush of rebelling against parents or anyone in authority and living life my way. The euphoria of sex on my terms whenever I want and with whomever I want outside of marriage. The satisfaction of roasting someone else. We feel so alive in the midst of our sin! But the end result is always the same: death. The promised rush was never real, but an effective scheme of Satan used repeatedly to lead a lamb to its slaughter. That’s all sin can do. It condemns. It kills.

But now, “God made [us] alive with Christ” (v.13b). Could this really happen? How did this happen? “with Christ,” Paul says. Did God really raise Christ from the dead? Yes! Then God can make alive, because Christ lives! If Christ, who died, lives, then you have really been made alive with him!

And here’s how he did it. “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross” (v.13b-14). He forgave our sins, not just because he’s a nice guy or wanted to change his mind, but because he paid the price. He nailed our sin to the cross with him, so everything we owed because of our sin has been cancelled and forgiven. And if it was that sin that killed and condemned us, but that sin no longer remains, then we are no longer dead, but made alive with Christ.

In Jesus’ case, the cross was not for a criminal; it was the podium on which the victor was displayed. The cross didn’t mean death and defeat, but victory! And not just for Christ, who did not need to win anything for himself, but a victory he won for us! And he didn’t hesitate to make that victory known, but displayed it clearly for Satan and all who oppose him to see. “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross” (v.15).

Most trophy cases have plaques and medals and ribbons, but Christ’s has a cross. Just think of how Satan despises that cross around your neck, displayed on your wall at home, fixed in the front of churches! They serve as a constant reminder of our victory and his defeat!

We know who Jesus is – the fullness of God. We know how fullness in Christ is found: through the cross. When, though, does it become ours?

In baptism. Paul wrote, “Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,  having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead” (v.11b-12). In baptism, you were buried and raised with Christ. In baptism, God cut out the old self ruled by the sinful flesh and raised up the new child of God. 

Do you feel alive? You are, in Christ. What now? In this new year, you don’t need more – at least not more of the same old stuff you’ve chased after in the past that has gotten you where you are today. If you’re still chasing after more in this life because you don’t have enough, then maybe it’s time to start pursuing more of the One who is enough. How? “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness” (v.6-7).

Maybe your life doesn’t feel like enough because you’re not continuing to live in him. Maybe your life doesn’t feel like enough because your roots are too shallow. Maybe your life doesn’t feel like enough because your faith is so weak. Maybe your life doesn’t feel like enough because you’re not very grateful. 

Do you want to live your life in him, deepen your roots, strengthen your faith, or grow in gratitude – but you don’t know how? If that’s the case, you’re in the right place. Start here! Dig into the Word – and get into God’s house. Find a local Christian congregation that unapologetically proclaims Christ.

Whatever you’ve told yourself to keep you from being at church – discard those lying, deceitful reasons! If Christ is enough – and he is – church is where Christ is proclaimed. And where Christ is, that’s where roots deepen and faith is strengthened. Where Christ is, is where thankfulness begins to overflow. 

More than likely, there’s going to be a need to establish some new habits. Research shows that success in achieving goals and growth doesn’t most often come the way we might think it does: with big, sweeping, radical changes that completely transform our lives. Rather, lasting success comes from very small choices or habits carried out consistently over time.

Another popular way of expressing this principle is the one percent rule. If you focus on getting just one percent better each day and carry it out repeatedly, those efforts will compound over time into something bigger. Put your dish in the dishwasher daily instead of on the counter. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. One serving of dessert. You get the point. 

Doesn’t it seem like Paul understood this? He didn’t write to the Colossians, “Oh, Jesus Christ is your Lord? That’s great, then you’re good to go.” He wrote, “continue to live your lives in him.” Continue. Consistently. 1% every day. One Bible verse on your phone daily. Say a prayer first thing in the morning. Thank God for one blessing every day. One act of service for someone daily. Some of you might need to start with smaller, weekly steps. How about one Sunday a week at church? 🙂 Whatever it is, don’t stop. Continue. Consistently. Because Christ. Is. Enough.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Those Who Care for Christ’s People

Lord of the Church,
Thank you for those who shepherd your people and provide spiritual care for the sheep of your flock. Bless their work as they carry out the great responsibility of guiding and nurturing the faith and lives of the body of Christ. Keep them faithful to your Word and grant them the discernment to correctly apply law and gospel. Refresh them in soul, spirit, and body when they feel the burden of their calling. Reward their work with joy in seeing the fruit of their labor as your Holy Spirit strengthens faith and equips believers for works of service. Continue to train and provide future workers for this important work, so that your grace flows in abundance from one generation to the next until your glorious return. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Keep Christ at the Center of Worship

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. We keep them sacred – holy – by coming together with fellow believers to be fed by your Word. Prevent all efforts at supplanting your Word and gospel with anything else in worship. Your house is not the place for political rallies or protests, but for the proclamation of your Word. Let Christ alone and the hope of salvation through faith in him be the focal point of worship in Christian churches everywhere. Guard the walls of churches from false teaching, but also from anything that doesn’t serve to advance your glorious gospel. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Anointed to Be Our Righteousness

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(Matthew 3:13-17)

Jesus’ Resurrection would have been a significant enough event to have heard it. But there were plenty of even lesser miracles that would have been fitting. When Jesus changed water into wine at Cana, for example. When he raised Lazarus or Jairus’s daughter from the dead. Feeding the Five Thousand. Each of those miraculous events would have served as ideal occasions on which the Father’s booming voice of approval could have echoed from the heavens. 

Imagine the guests at Cana, gushing over the best wine ever, now realizing that the special occasion just got a lot more special because God’s voice confirmed they were in the presence of God’s Son! God’s approval would serve as the perfect exclamation point after a dead person just came back to life. The leftover loads of fish and bread that surpassed what they had even started with would have made perfect sense to the disciples if God’s voice had immediately emphasized that it was his Son who was responsible.

But it wasn’t any of those occasions on which the “voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased’” (v.17). No, those words were spoken at Jesus’ baptism. An event which, by the way, seemed entirely unnecessary to some, including the one performing the baptism, John the Baptist himself. If anyone should be an expert in who should or shouldn’t need baptism, it would surely be the one whose very title denotes his experience and expertise in the area of baptism. Yet he was the one who was puzzled enough to second-guess Jesus’ request: “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” (v.14). All of this makes us wonder why this event was the one chosen by God to voice his approval. 

If we eavesdrop in on Peter’s sermon from Acts 10, he explained the significance of Jesus’ baptism and the events surrounding it: “You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:37-38). The Father’s affirming voice was the stamp of approval acknowledging Jesus’ baptism as his anointing into ministry. 

Still today, we have a special service when a pastor is ordained or installed. Other pastors join in laying on hands. But at Jesus’ baptism, instead of hands, the Father laid the Holy Spirit on his Son in the likeness of a dove. His baptism was his anointing, his ordination into ministry. 

Jesus also provides us with additional insight as to the significance of his baptism. It wasn’t just his anointing. “Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented” (v.15). Jesus had to “fulfill all righteousness.”

Righteousness. It’s a big word. It’s an important word. In fact, we’d literally be lost without it. 

While it’s a little early in the church year for the festival of the Reformation, whenever the word “righteousness” is discussed, it can be helpful to recall the struggle that Martin Luther had with the term righteous in the earlier stages of his life. He knew that only righteous people could enter heaven, since the Bible teaches that only those who are perfect will enter heaven. But, he also knew that all efforts at achieving righteousness on his own were in vain.

This understanding that holiness is required for whatever is in the afterlife is still pretty commonly held to today in a very general sense: good people go to heaven; bad people don’t. But it’s that general understanding that will leave so many in trouble, because “good” is entirely subjective. When our natural inclination is to compare ourselves to the worst in society, people can feel pretty good about themselves. They hold on to a false confidence that they’re good enough to get into heaven. But there are no good people in heaven; just perfect people.

So, we had better make absolutely certain we know how that perfection, that righteousness, is acquired! That’s where Luther struggled. He took desperate measures to do everything he possibly could to achieve righteousness on his own. Do you know where those desperate measures left him? Desperate. In despair. Because by his own experience, he was absolutely convinced that he could never attain righteousness on his own. Indeed, he was experiencing exactly what the Bible teaches about righteousness: “the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal” (Romans 9:31). 

It seems logical to conclude that, if God gave the law, then abiding by it – doing what it says to do and avoiding what it says not to do – should be the path to righteousness. But, just like the Israelites, and everyone before or after them, the only realization one can arrive at is this: if the law is the means by which righteousness is attained, then no one will ever attain righteousness, for no one has ever come close to keeping the law!

So if righteousness can’t be achieved by keeping the law, but is still a requirement for us to gain access to heaven, then how do we come by it? “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith” (Romans 9:30). It is not the law, then, but faith by which a person obtains righteousness. Paul repeats this truth extensively throughout his letter to the Romans. “But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known…This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans 3:21-22). “To the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

But, for righteousness to be credited to us by faith, it first had to be attained so that it could be granted to us. That brings us back to the Jordan River. There, Jesus was not only anointed as the One chosen to secure our righteousness, but also took a major step in carrying that righteousness through his baptism. Had the Savior slipped up and sinned or failed to follow through with even the slightest requirement of the law, then he would not have achieved righteousness. And had he not achieved righteousness, then there would be no righteousness to credit to all who believe. 

But he did, and so he can – and does. By faith, the righteousness of Jesus is the righteousness of Abraham, Martin Luther, you and me, and all who believe.

So then, where does your baptism come in? What role does it play? Is it an outward act of obedience that shows God our righteousness? That would only make sense if righteousness could be obtained by the law or by any act of obedience. But since we just established that isn’t the case, then our baptism cannot be merely a display of our obedience or dedication, for that wouldn’t carry any weight before a God who only accepts perfection.

No, our baptism is so much more significant than that. Our baptism is like the floodgate that opens up all of the blessings that flow from the righteousness that Jesus already earned for us.

Buried and raised with him? Check.

Washed and renewed? Check.

Forgiven and saved? Check.

A loving Father who is pleased with us? Check.

Jesus’ righteousness had to come by the law so that our righteousness could come by faith. His baptism had to fulfill all righteousness so that our baptism could make us right with God. His baptism was to keep the law so that your baptism washes you from the curse of the law.

Now, wrapped in the double blessing of a baptism that is backed by the Savior’s baptism, we pursue living in the righteousness that reflects the gift of righteousness we’ve been given. Remember what Peter said in his sermon about Jesus’ baptism – that he was “anointed… with the Holy Spirit and power.” Too easily we forget or simply aren’t aware that the same Holy Spirit and power have been placed on us and are in us through our baptismal faith. We are so comfortable defaulting to Jesus’ perfection and righteousness that we fail to allow those blessings to spur us on to continue to pursue righteous living. 

We aren’t desperate. We don’t live fraught with despair that we’re not good enough, but are confident that in Christ’s baptismal righteousness, we are perfect! Our lives reflect that appreciation and confidence by looking the part. We don’t settle for walking and talking like the rest of the world, but are eager to pursue righteous living – because that is genuinely what we are in Christ: righteous.

Grace and forgiveness don’t prompt us to lower the bar in our living, but to raise it, to honor Jesus in every possible way by following in his footsteps. Jesus’ baptism – and by extension yours – doesn’t just change our status before God; it empowers our sanctification before him. When we take the time to remember and appreciate the significance of Jesus’ baptism, we more deeply treasure our own. So we raise the bar of righteous living to thank him who is our righteousness.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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For Your Righteousness to Produce Righteousness in Me

King of Righteousness,
You came to be my sin and credit to me your righteousness. I now stand before you cleansed of all sin – because of you. I now stand before you in perfect righteousness – because of you. How can this be, but by faith! 

But my faith is not finished. Secure in your righteousness, my faith is driven to continue its pursuit of living in righteousness. Keep me in step with your Spirit, so that I do not wander from your paths. Strengthen my heart with the readiness and resolve to do the right thing, in everything, for you, my King. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.