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God said, “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.  In it you shall do no work; you, nor your son, nor your daughter” (Exodus 20:9-10).

God knows us so well.  He can see the store owner thinking, Somebody needs to work that day.  If I can’t, my son will.  So God says, “Nor your son.”  Then my daughter will, thinks the store owner. “Nor your daughter,” God has declared.  No, God says, one day of the week you will say no to work and yes to worship. You will slow down and sit down and lie down and rest.  Still we object.  We offer up one reason after another.  God’s message is plain.  If creation didn’t crash when I rested, it won’t crash when you do.  Repeat these words after me– It is not my job to run the world!

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Holiday travel.  It isn’t easy.  Then why do we do it?  Why cram the trunks and endure the airports?  You know the answer.  We love to be with the ones we love.  The four-year-old running up the sidewalk into the arms of Grandpa.  The cup of coffee with Mom before the rest of the house awakes.  That moment when, for a moment, everyone is quiet as we hold hands around the table and thank God for family and friends and pumpkin pie.  We love to be with the ones we love.

May I remind you?  So does God. How else do you explain what he did? Between him and us there was a distance—a great span.  And he couldn’t bear it.  He couldn’t stand it.  So he did something about it.  Philippians 2:7 reminds us, “He [Jesus] gave up his place with God and made himself nothing!”

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Are you in prison?  You are if you feel better when you have more and worse when you have less.  If your happiness comes from something you deposit, drive, drink, or digest, then face it—you are in prison, the prison of want.

That’s the bad news.  The good news is that you have a visitor.  And your visitor has a message that can get you released.  Make your way into the receiving room.  Take your seat in the chair, and look across the table at the psalmist David.  He motions for you to lean forward.  “I have a secret to tell you,” he whispers, “the secret of satisfaction. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”  It’s as if he is saying, What I have in God is greater than what I don’t have in life.  You think you and I could learn to say the same?

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God endows us with gifts so we can make him known.  God endues the Olympian with speed, the salesman with savvy, the surgeon with skill.  Why?  The big answer is to make a big to-do out of God.  Brandish him.  Herald him  Magnify your maker!

Scripture says, “If anyone speaks let him speak the oracles of God; if anyone ministers, let him do so with the ability God supplies so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion for ever and ever.  Amen!  (1 Peter 4:11).  So, exhibit God with your uniqueness.  When you magnify your Maker with your strengths and when your contribution enriches God’s reputation, your days grow suddenly sweet!

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You’ve had enough of human love…haven’t you?  Enough tabloids telling you that true love is just a diet away. Enough mornings smelling like the mistakes you made while searching for love the night before. Don’t you need a fountain of love that won’t run dry?

You’ll find one on a stone-cropped hill outside Jerusalem’s walls where Jesus hangs, cross-nailed and thorn-crowned.  When you feel unloved, ascend this mount.  Meditate long and hard on heaven’s love for you.  Both eyes beaten shut, shoulders as raw as ground beef, lips bloody and split.  Fists of hair yanked from his beard.  Gasps of air escaping his lungs.  As you peer into the crimsoned face of heaven’s only Son, remember this:  “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners” (Romans 5:8).

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After Christ’s forty-day pause in the wilderness, the people of Capernaum tried to keep him from leaving them.  But he said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent” (Luke 4:42-43). He resisted the undertow of the people by anchoring to the rock of his purpose; employing his uniqueness to make a big deal out of God everywhere he could.

And aren’t you glad he did? Suppose he had heeded the crowd and set up camp in Capernaum, reasoning, “I thought the whole world was my target and the cross my destiny.  But the entire town tells me to stay in Capernaum.  Could all these people be wrong?” Yes they could!  In defiance of the crowd, Jesus said no to good things so he could say yes to the right thing– his unique call!  I’m praying we do the same.

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Doubt.  He’s a nosy neighbor.  He’s an obnoxious guest.  He’ll pester you.  He’ll irritate you.  He’ll kick the stool out from under you and refuse to help you up.  He doesn’t offer solutions, he only raises questions.  Had any visits from Doubt lately?

If you find yourself going to church in order to be saved and not because you are saved, then you’ve been listening to him. If you find yourself doubting God could forgive you again for that, you’ve been sold some snake oil.  If you are more cynical about Christians than sincere about Christ, then guess who came to dinner?

I suggest you put a lock on your gate.  I suggest you post a “Do Not Enter” sign on your door. James 1:6 says, “Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea, blown up and down by the wind.”

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Tears represent the heart, the spirit, and the soul of a person.  To put a lock and key on your emotions is to bury part of your Christlikeness! Especially when you come to Calvary.

You can’t go to the cross with just your head and not your heart.  It doesn’t work that way.  Calvary is not a mental trip.  It’s not an intellectual exercise.  It’s not a divine calculation or a cold theological principle. It’s a heart-splitting hour of emotion.

Don’t walk away dry-eyed and unstirred.  Don’t just straighten your tie and clear your throat. Don’t descend Calvary cool and collected.  Please. . .pause.  Look again. Those are nails in those hands.  That’s God on that cross.  It’s us who put him there!  No wonder they call him the Savior!

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None of us pray as much as we should, but all of us pray more than we think, because the Holy Spirit turns our sighs into petitions and our tears into entreaties.  He makes sure you get heard!

Now, suppose a person never learns about the sealing and the intercession of the Holy Spirit. This person may assume that salvation security resides in our works, not God’s; and that the power of prayer depends upon our prayer and not the prayers of the Spirit. What kind of life will this person lead?  A parched and prayerless one.  But what if you believe in the work of the Spirit?  Will you be different as a result? You bet your sweet Sunday you will. Your shoulders will lift and your knees will bend as you discover the buoyant power of praying in the Spirit. A higher walk…deeper prayers.  And most of all, a quiet confidence that comes from knowing it’s not up to you!

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Those who don’t believe in Jesus take note of what believers do.  They make decisions about Christ by watching us. When we’re kind, they assume Christ is kind.  When we’re gracious, they assume Christ is gracious.  But when we’re dishonest, what assumption will an observer make about our Master?

No wonder the apostle Paul says to “be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers, making the most of every opportunity. When you talk, you should always be kind and pleasant so you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should” (Colossians 4:5-6).  Courteous conduct honors Christ.  It also honors his children.  When you make an effort to greet everyone in the room, especially the ones others may have overlooked, you honor God’s children with a love worth giving!

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Luke 17:33 says,  “Those who try to keep their lives will lose them.  But those who give up their lives will save them.” Heaven may have a shrine to honor God’s uncommon use of the common.  If so, it’s a place you won’t want to miss.  See Rahab’s rope, David’s sling, and Samson’s jawbone.  Wrap your hand around the staff that split the sea and sniff the ointment that soothed Jesus’ skin and lifted his heart.

I don’t know if these items will be there.  But I’m sure of one thing—the people who used them will be there.  The risk takers– Rahab who sheltered the spy; David slinging a stone; and Samson swinging a bone.  And Mary at Jesus’ feet…what she gave cost much, but somehow she knew what he would give would cost more!

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When God entered time and became a man, he who was boundless became bound.  For more than three decades, his once limitless reach would be limited to the stretch of an arm.  His speed would be checked to the pace of human feet.

I wonder, was he ever tempted to reclaim his boundlessness? When the rain chilled his bones, was he tempted to change the weather?  If ever he entertained such a thought, he never gave in to it.  Not once did Christ use his supernatural powers for personal comfort.  With one word he could have transformed the hard earth into a soft bed, but he didn’t. With a wave of his hand, he could have boomeranged the spit of his accusers back into their faces.  With the arch of his brow, he could have paralyzed the hand of the soldier that braided the crown of thorns.  But he didn’t.

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Why does a mother love her newborn?  Because the baby is hers?  Even more.  Because the baby is her!  Her flesh.  Her blood.  Her hope.  Her legacy.  It doesn’t bother her that the baby gives nothing.  She knows a newborn is helpless and weak.  She knows babies don’t ask to come into this world.

And God knows we didn’t either.  We are his idea.  We are his.  His face.  His hands. His eyes.  His touch.  Look deeply into the face of every human being on earth, and you will see his likeness.  Though some may appear to be distant relatives, they’re not.  We are, incredibly, the body of Christ.  And though we may not act like our Father, there’s no greater truth than this:  We are his.  Unalterably, He loves us.  Undyingly. And nothing can separate us from the love of Christ!

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Much of life is spent fixing lunches; turning in assignments; changing diapers; and paying bills.  Routine…regular…more struggle than strut.  You thought marriage was going to be a lifelong date?  You thought having kids was going to be like baby-sitting?  You thought the company who hired you wanted to hear all the ideas you had in college? Then you learned otherwise.

The honeymoon ended.  Oh, there are moments of glamour, days of celebration.  We have our share of feasts, but we also have our share of baloney sandwiches.  And to have the first we must endure the second. I’ve learned that God comes. And, in the right way, he appears.  So don’t bail out.  Don’t give up.  He is too wise to forget you and too loving to hurt you.  When you can’t see him, trust him.  He is praying a prayer for you that he himself will answer.

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It’s one thing to suffer for doing wrong. Something else entirely to suffer for doing right.  But it happens.  And it washes away the naïve assumption that if I do right, I will never suffer.  Just ask the faithful couple whose crib is empty and whose womb is barren.  Or the husband who took a chance and forgave his wife, only to be betrayed again.

Why does God wait?  I don’t know.  I only know his timing is always right and he will do what is best.  Luke 18:7 promises that “God will always give what is right to his people who cry to him night and day, and he will not be slow to answer them.”  Though you hear nothing, he is speaking.  Though you see nothing, he is acting.  With God there are no accidents.  Every incident is intended to bring us closer to him!

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Two of my teenage years were spent carrying a tuba in my high school marching band.  Not necessarily what you’d describe as a call from God, but it wasn’t a wasted experience either.  I learned some facts about harmony that I’ll pass on to you. Would you attend a concert of a hundred tubas?  Probably not.  But what band would be a band without a tuba?  Or a flute?  Or a trumpet?  Or a steady drum?  Get the idea?  The operative word is need.  They need each other.  By themselves they make music.  But together, they make magic.

What I saw decades ago in the marching band, I see today in the church.  We need each other.  Not all of us play the same instrument.  Not all of us make the same sound.  Some are soft, and others are loud. Some convert the lost.  Others encourage the saved.  And some keep the movement in step.  But all are needed!  “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:12).

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Suppose you give me a gift.  Let’s say you present me with a new tie.  I take it out of the box, examine it and say thank you, and then reach for my wallet.  “Now, how much do I owe you?” I ask.

You think I’m kidding. “It’s a gift,” you say, “you don’t need to pay me.”

“I understand,” I respond, but show I really don’t by asking, “Could I write you a check?”

In trying to buy your gift, I’ve degraded your grace.  I’ve robbed you of the joy of giving.  How often we rob God.  Have you considered what an insult it is to God when we try to pay him for his goodness?  Sly is the scheme of Satan!  He causes us to question grace, to earn it.  What is it God wants us to do?  Just believe…believe the One he sent.  And receive the gift he gives. “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”  John 6:29.

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It was a tense deacon’s meeting.  Apparently there was more agitation than agreement, and after a lengthy discussion someone suggested, “Why don’t we pray about it?”  To which another questioned, “Has it come to that?”

What causes us to think of prayer as the last option rather than the first?  I can think of two reasons: feelings of independence and feelings of insignificance. We think, God doesn’t want to hear my problems. He’s got famine and the Mafia to deal with. I don’t want to trouble him with my mess. The last thing you should worry about is being a nuisance to God.  If that’s your thought, may I share with you a favorite verse of mine? “Because He delights in me, He saved me” (Psalm 18:19).

God can live anywhere in the universe and he chose your heart.  He’s crazy about you!  Why don’t you talk to him?

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God is more patient with us than we are with ourselves.  We assume if we fall, we aren’t born again.  If we have the old desires, we must not be a new creation.  If you’re anxious please remember what Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.”

In many ways your new birth is like your first.  In your new birth God provides what you need; someone else feels the pain, and someone else does the work. And just as parents are patient with their newborn, so God is patient with you.  But there’s one difference.  The first time you had no choice about being born. This time you do.  The power is God’s.  The effort is God’s.  The pain is God’s.  But the choice is yours.

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I had planned to nap during my trip.  But the fellow next to me had other ideas! Knowing I couldn’t sleep, I opened my Bible.

“What ya’ studying there, buddy?”  I told him, but he never heard.

“The church is lost,” he declared.  “Hellbound and heartsick.  Christians are asleep.  They don’t pray.  They don’t  love. They don’t care.”  And with that he began listing all the woes and weaknesses of the church.

I shouldn’t have let it bug me, but it did.  God’s faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of his children.  He is faithful even when we are not.  When we lack courage, he doesn’t.

I’ll probably never see that proclaimer of pessimism again, but if you do, will you give him a message for me?  God’s blessings are dispensed according to the riches of his grace, not according to the depth of our faith.  That’s what makes God…God! And that is what makes the church strong.

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