simplelife

When you stand in the shadow of God, you are a giant. You are protected and guarded by him so you can be bold in sharing the story of Jesus. Paul gives this instruction about our attitude of gratitude and good manners: "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, 'Rejoice!' Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand." (Philippians 4:4) Let's not be mean or judgmental. The world is already full of anger and hatred. instead, let's focus on the goodness of God and share that with gentleness and kindness. Challenge: Look around you. Who needs that gentle and loving Presence? Are you willing to let God work through you for their good, in all his power and perfection?

Jesus talks about those who find their life in him. "I am the vine; you are the branches," he says in John 15. A branch isn't straining or struggling. It grows, resists wind and rain, and produces fruit because it is anchored and fed by the tree trunk or vine. Paul notes that everything good in us comes because of Jesus and our life in him: "I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11) Challenge: What parts of life are not yet rooted in your relationship with Jesus? What adjustment do you have to make (or what request do you have of God) ... and what will it cost you? Are you willing to prune off everything that doesn't make you grow in righteousness?

For some of us, beginnings are hard. They are filled with cautions, what-ifs, and fear. For others, a new start is a happy adventure with many possibilities. Regardless, the middle of a journey or project can be a challenge. We get diverted, stuck, turned around, and lost. Then we gather our bearings and push on. If we persevere, we get to our destination or goal. The life of faith is the same. We can lose hope, experience failure and grief, and wonder if God is interested in us or if he has abandoned us. Paul offers this word of hope: "I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6 Knowing that God loves you wherever you are, whatever you are trying to do, however the day goes ... and that he is still at work in you? What a hopeful thing! Challenge: Offer yourself to God today, whatever your surroundings or circumstances. Ask him to reassure you of his love and kindness to walk with you...

There's an interesting story in Acts 16. Paul and Silas have come to the city with good news of Jesus as risen Savior. They have driven the demon out of a girl. And that makes her boss angry because she was a fortuneteller who made a lot of money for him. Paul and Silas are imprisoned, beaten, and their feet put in stocks. They pray and sing hymns throughout the night - and God sends an earthquake that opens the prison doors and shakes off the chains of the prisoners. The jailer's life is in peril since he hasn't done his job. He's about to commit suicide when Paul calls out to him and say, "Wait. We're all here!" The jailer asks, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Paul and Silas don't give him a human solution of good works and righteous living. They say, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." They share the story of Jesus with everyone in his house and baptize them. The same is still tr...

Do you look at yourself and see only failure and flaws? Maybe you have an ideal - or many - that you have not reached.  Each person is an imperfect human. One of the unique things about the Christian faith is that God came among us - perfectly divine and perfectly human - to live so we could see God's nature; to die to reconcile us to God; to be raised from the dead so that the power of his new life is ours. Each day, we are loved. We come to him in repentance for sins done and good things left undone - and he forgives us. Completely. Utterly. That's why, if you are following Jesus, God see you as perfectly righteous: "God made him who had no sin to be made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21  Challenge: Today, try to see yourself in the eyes of God. Perfectly accepted in his beloved Son. Now, what do you look like and whose are you?

The fads of self-realization have created a lot of anxious people. It turns out that we're not smart enough or good enough to win our soul's freedom. We are not able reconnect with our Creator on our own. The songwriter pleads: " Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. "(Psalm 51:10-12) My prayer today is that we become aware enough to know we need saving; We need a bridge from where we are to the place God wants us to be. Filled with mercy and love for us, Jesus is the bridge God has provided. We don't need to swim the currents or battle the rapids alone. He asks us to accept our helplessness and his solution. From that vantage point, we need a steadfast unwavering repentance that turns continually toward God, away from things of the world that pollute and hamper God'...

The prophet Jeremiah writes: " Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts." (Jeremiah 15:16) I'm considering how often I "eat" and "digest" the instructions of God. Is that what makes me feel joyful and happy? Or am I satisfying myself with other things? It's not like the Word (scripture) is hard to access. There are apps, hard copies, and audio Bibles available. Yet, am I immersing myself in God's word like the prophet was, in order to share the Good News with others? Challenge: We need more hunger for God's Word. Today let's pray that God will make us ravenous to know him. And then, will we allow him to satisfy us with the scriptures?

Following Jesus seems self-serving much of the time. We talk to God (pray) when we need help or want to complain. When things don't go our way, we may feel disappointed or short-changed by God. Yet Jesus promised that those grounded in the scriptures and acting them out would weather storms rather than be shattered into pieces. He never said that we would not experience hard times. The prophet says, " Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."  (Habakkuk 3:16-18) Challenge: Am I willing to praise God and rejoice in his goodness today, regardless of what's around me? What expectations or areas of control do I need to relinquish to do so?

Do you ever feel like life depends on you? Like, if you fail, things will fall apart? As though, if you get fired or reprimanded, life may come to an end? What pressure! Yet life as a follower of Jesus is about dependence. About tapping into the source of Life himself. About waiting for the divine tree of life to nurture and feed and sustain you. Jesus said: "Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." (John 15:4-5) Challenge: Looking at the way I responded today, did I draw strength and courage from Jesus? Did my life reflect his nature and his purposes? What would be different if I were truly plugged into him as my source?

The gap between earth and heaven seems great. I live in the lowlands rather than on the heights most days. How did Jesus - fully divine and fully human - reconcile the chores and rhythms of daily life with the grand purpose of bringing salvation to humanity? Maybe Isaiah's counsel is part of the secret: " Seek   the   L ORD   while   he   may   be   found ;  call   upon   him   while   he   is   near. Let the wicked forsake   his   way ,  and   the   unrighteous   man   his   thoughts ;  let   him   return   to   the   L ORD ,   that   he   may   have   compassion   on   him ,  and   to   our   God ,   for   he   will   abundantly   pardon . "For   my   thoughts   are   not   your   thoughts ,  neither   are   your   ways...

I want to know. I was born curious. And yet so much of life is beyond my understanding. It's beyond my control. Jesus lived day to day in the will of his Father. Am I willing to do that? Aren't you thankful that the all-knowing God holds life and the future securely in his hands? Paul puts it this way:  "Oh ,   the   depth   of   the   riches   and  wisdom   and   knowledge   of   God !   How  unsearchable   are   his   judgments   and   how   inscrutable   his   ways !  “ For   who   has   known   the   mind   of   the   Lord , or   who   has   been   his   counselor ?”  “ Or   who   has   given   a   gift   to   him that   he   might   be   repaid ?” "For   from   him   and   through   him   and   to   him ...

Why do we set goals and strive to keep them?  There are  basic goals for self-care: exercise more, rest longer, eat healthier. There are relationship aspirations: listen, visit, be present for others. There are spiritual goals: pray and read scripture, meditate on God's goodness, and connect with his people. God has planted the desire to please him and love others deeply within us. Sometimes that feels like an impossible and unattainable destination. Yet when we align with God's nature we begin to understand what is required. Only when we rest in Christ's accomplishments can we see what's important. Our security comes from knowing our salvation is won. Now our primary goal is to please the one who loved us enough to do that for us. "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 Challenge: What striving do I need to lay down in order to live in the va...

Sometimes I forget how undeserving I am - and how patient God has been with me. I can take for granted the mercy and loving-kindness I experience every day. Yet my salvation and my hope was won by the life and death of Jesus. Lent reminds me that our relationship with God doesn't rest on our own works, our ability to pull up our  socks, or our grit. We don't have access to God because of our own determination to be saved. Instead, He is at work in us day after day,  to reconcile us to himself. Paul exclaims: "You surely don't think much of God's wonderful goodness or of his patience and willingness to put up with you. Don't you know that the reason God is good to you is because he wants you to turn to him?" (Romans 2:4 CEV) Challenge:  What do I need to forgive? leave behind? or turn away from, in order to turn my heart toward God's goodness?

Decades ago, I promised God I'd follow anywhere he led, just like Jesus did. Then I would wince at the thought that the life of Jesus led to the cross. And I'd hope that suffering would be distant and my life wouldn't be painful. Yet pain comes. Suffering comes. Distractions arise. And in daily life, we get diverted from our promises. This Lenten season, I'm asking God to remind me of my promises.  I want to rest in the comfort Moses promised God's people if they would align themselves with God's nature and his plans:  "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified  because of them, for the  Lord  your God goes with you; he will never leave you  nor forsake  you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6) Challenge:  In what ways am I following through on what I have promised him? Do I trust him to fulfill his purposes for me?

 Lent has come more quickly than anticipated. I will post each day through Easter or Pasca - March 31. Take these posts as an encouragement to meditate on the wonder of your salvation. Today around the world, the palm fronds from last year will be burned and the ashes touched to the forehead in the shape of a cross.  During Lent, we remember that Jesus lived and died for us - over the next 40 days of meditation and prayer. Typically, Christians choose a daily spiritual discipline - fasting, prayer, Bible reading, etc. - that turns our hearts toward God and his loving sacrifice for us.  Remember that the discipline does not make you more beloved or holy in God's eyes. You are already completely loved. And what Jesus accomplished on the cross makes you holy and righteous in God's eyes. Fasting is usually the discipline of Lent. You can limit food or drink (do a traditional fast), media, a habit, a routine, or ...? Challenge: What will you give up for Lent to make space for ...