AUGUST 13, 2017

“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” 
― C.S. Lewis

PSALM 96-98

 10Let those who love the Lord hate evil,

for he guards the lives of his faithful ones

and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11Light shines^a on the righteous

and joy on the upright in heart.

12Rejoice in the Lord, you who are righteous,

and praise his holy name. (97:10-12)

ROMANS 12

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

JOURNAL 

Living sacrifice...this is really putting it on the line. This line lays it out completely. That this is the true way to worship God. Not by lip service or just showing up at church or tithing 10%. To dedicate my entire being...mind, body and spirit in obedience and service to God.  Paul further clarifies that this means to not conform to the ways of the world. By doing this he says we will then know what God's will truly is for our lives. 

Later in the chapter he goes on to state that this then leads the believer to love

 9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

This is a chapter I could read every day of my life...it really lays out what being a believer is all about. Paul goes on to also state that each of us have gifts and if we are to live as living sacrifices then we are to use those gifts.  

23Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
- LUKE 9:23-25

AUGUST 12, 2017

“Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.” 
― William Arthur Ward

PSALM 93-95

1Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;

let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.

2Let us come before him with thanksgiving

and extol him with music and song.

3For the Lord is the great God,

the great King above all gods.

4In his hand are the depths of the earth,

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

5The sea is his, for he made it,

and his hands formed the dry land.

6Come, let us bow down in worship,

let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;

7for he is our God

and we are the people of his pasture,

the flock under his care. (95:1-7)

ROMANS 11:22-36

33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom andⁱ knowledge of God!

How unsearchable his judgments,

and his paths beyond tracing out!

34“Who has known the mind of the Lord?

Or who has been his counselor?”^j

35“Who has ever given to God,

that God should repay them?”^k

36For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be the glory forever! Amen.

JOURNAL 

Coaching is such an honor. To see kids learn, develop and then implement what they have learned is so rewarding. It definitely is one of the greatest blessings. Equally as important is watching a kid fail miserably and then come back and correct a mistake.  It reminds me that God sees me the same way. When I trust him and work to get better and do things that are hard...I know and feel that it warms his heart.

This morning I am a bit overwhelmed as I contemplate that the creator of all things, all people, the mountains, the valleys, the rivers, the oceans, all the smallest details of our amazing world...the laugh and tears of a child, the miracle of a created being...he is the author and creator of all and yet through it he whispers and pronounces his love for me, for all of his creation. It is in these moments that I both realize how small and insignificant I am, but at the same time how grateful I am to be a part of it all. I realize that he is all things...Father, Coach, Friend. He finds joy in his creation living, breathing and doing what he designed it to do...I experience that same joy when I cling to his instruction, his direction and know that he smiles on me, no matter how often I fumble, blow it or lose my way. He is always waiting, always hoping, always calling me back to him. 

What an honor to serve him and obey him as I am called to live this life to the fullest.

9I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.^a They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
- JOHN 10:9-10

AUGUST 11, 2017

"To proceed very far through the desert, you must be willing to meet existential suffering and work it through. In order to do this, the attitude toward pain has to change. This happens when we accept the fact that everything that happens to us has been designed for our spiritual growth.” 
― M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth

PSALM 90-92

14“Because he^b loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;

I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15He will call on me, and I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble,

I will deliver him and honor him.(91:14-15)

ROMANS 11:1-21

1I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don’t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he appealed to God against Israel: 3“Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me”^a ? 4And what was God’s answer to him? “I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”^b 5So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

JOURNAL 

Today is the day...it is the only day. This is the moment...it is the only moment. Oh how I get so caught up in the thoughts of tomorrow and the unchangeable past. It's funny as I look at my dog laying on the floor without one care in the world. I wonder at times if that is how we are to live...

I think the answer is yes and no. For animals they really live stress free...they truly embrace the moment because the have no ability to do otherwise.  Yet at the same time they act on exactly what they feel without the critical ability to choose otherwise and consider alternate choices. It makes me realize that just because I have thoughts, feelings etc...it doesn't mean that I must always follow them. 

With this incredible ability to imagine, analyze, remember and create it is really overwhelming all the things our brains can entertain. It is in this that I realize how critical it is that I seek God in all things and in all moments. The myriad of choices which I encounter each and every day can become paralyzing and also destructive if I don't have an anchor in which to tie myself. 

That is the beauty and grace of the gospel and the spirit that dwells deep in my mind and heart. It will not fail me no matter the circumstance, heartache, joy, success, failure etc. etc...It is what propels me to walk through suffering and heartache. It is what encourages me to keep going no matter how inconceivable it is to trust the narrow hard way rather that the easy, well-traveled. It really is my only reasonable hope to live the life I was created to live.

16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
- 2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18

AUGUST 9, 2017

“Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (see Revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me that she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son. I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last 'trick', whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school.

'But how?' we ask.

Then the voice says, 'They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'

There they are. There *we* are - the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to faith. 

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace.” 
― Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out

PSALM 85-87

11Teach me your way, Lord,

that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart,

that I may fear your name.

12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;

I will glorify your name forever.

13For great is your love toward me;

you have delivered me from the depths,

from the realm of the dead.(86:11-13)

ROMANS 8:19-39

35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”^j

37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,^k neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

JOURNAL 

Today is one of those days. It feels as if all is futile and pointless. It is in these moments that I can understand how some just toss in the towel. The grind of life feels never-ending and everything seems bleak. I feel like crawling in a hole or driving to some far off destination and just starting over. 

Yet I come back to scripture and am reminded that this is just part of life. It is what all people face. It is where my faith becomes the anchor of my life. It is what keeps me stable, keeps me strong in weathering the storms. 

For Paul to declare that nothing can separate me from the love of God affirms what feels like the last smoldering ember of hope. God's love and his spirit are within me and trials and tribulations will only reveal the truth of God. They will only display the purity of his love in my life. I am not to fear uncertainty and hard times. I am to actually embrace them and conquer them. God gives me the strength to persist, the determination and courage to fight through the doldrums. The God of the universe is my strength...what more could I ever want.

7The Lord is my strength and my shield;

my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.

My heart leaps for joy,

and with my song I praise him.

PSALM 28:7

AUGUST 7, 2017

“The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” 
― Timothy J. Keller, The Meaning of Marriage

PSALM 79-81

11“But my people would not listen to me;

Israel would not submit to me.

12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts

to follow their own devices.

13“If my people would only listen to me,

if Israel would only follow my ways,

14how quickly I would subdue their enemies

and turn my hand against their foes!(81:11-14)

ROMANS 8:1-18

12Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.^f And by him we cry, “Abba,^g Father.” 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

JOURNAL 

Living according to the spirit of God puts us into an entire new realm of mind and spirit. It is a realm where the concerns o the body no longer rule. It is a realm where obedience trumps pleasure, where dedication trumps security. It is a realm where sacrifice is a given and love for God and fellow man is the only thing that matters. 

To live this way is to live every day and every moment in full surrender to God as a co-heir with Christ. This is impossible for me, a mere human, to consider myself a co-heir with Christ. To accept and embrace this reality is to be humbled in my own weakness and failure and to completely empty myself into God's grace and love. 

5Trust in the Lord with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways submit to him,

and he will make your paths straight.^a

PROVERBS 3:5-6