GOD SENT HIMSELF – August 26, 2021

God is with us. Prophets weren’t enough. Apostles wouldn’t do. Angels won’t suffice. God sent more than miracles and messages. He sent himself; he sent his Son. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).

Jesus has been where you are; he can relate to how you feel. And if his life on earth doesn’t convince you, his death on the cross should. He understands what you are going through. No one penned it more clearly than did the author of Hebrews. “Jesus understands every weakness of ours, because he was tempted in every way that we are. But he did not sin! So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved kindness, and we will find help” (Hebrews 4:15–16 CEV).

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KNOWN BY JESUS – August 25, 2021

According to Philippians 2:7, Jesus took “the very nature of a servant.” He became like us so he could serve us. He entered the world not to demand our allegiance but to display his affection.

He knew you’d be sleepy, he knew you’d be grief stricken, and hungry. He knew you’d face pain. If not the pain of the body, the pain of the soul. He knew you’d face thirst. If not a thirst for water, at least a thirst for truth. And the truth we glean from the image of a thirsty Christ on the cross is: Jesus understands.

When we feel lonely, knowing someone understands can make all the difference. You can be surrounded by people but still feel lonely if you don’t feel known. And you can be alone but not feel lonely if you are known. God became flesh, so we would always feel known by him.

GOD IS ALWAYS NEAR – August 24, 2021

What a world Jesus left. The God of the universe was born into the poverty of a peasant girl and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. John 1:14 says,”The Word became flesh and lived among us.” The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a thing?

When God came to earth, he ensured our salvation, he ensured grace, he ensured hope, and he ensured something else—that we would never be lonely again. Perhaps you feel lonely today. Perhaps you’ve felt lonely for weeks or even months. We cannot avoid loneliness. It is common to every human experience. But in Christ, God is always near. God loves to be with the ones he loves.

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THE GOD OF FORWARD MOTION – August 23, 2021

Believe in the Jesus who believes in you. “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11).

What will God do for you? It is not ours to say what God will do. It simply falls to us to stand up, take up, and walk. Jesus is serious about this command. When he found the just-healed man in the temple, he told him, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you” (John 5:14). To indulge in inertia, as the man had done, well that is to sin. Stagnant, do-nothingness is deemed as a serious offense.

God is the God of forward motion, the God of tomorrow. The God of what’s next?, and he is ready to write a new chapter in your biography.

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TIME TO STAND UP! – August 20, 2021

Life feels stuck when life makes no progress. When you battle the same discouragement you faced a decade ago or struggle with the same fears you faced a year ago. When you wake up to the same hang-ups and habits. When heartache becomes a permanent mailing address.

Jesus sees you, my friend, and he has a new version of you waiting to happen. He says to you what he said to the man at the pool of Bethesda: “Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk!” (John 5:8 NLT).

Stand up. Do something. Write a letter. Apply for the job. Reach out to a counselor. Stand up. Pick up. Pick up your mat. Make a clean break with the past. And walk. Set your sights on a new destination, and begin the hike. Getting unstuck means getting excited about getting out.

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DO YOU WANT TO BE WELL? – August 19, 2021

On one particular day Jesus was drawn to the pool of Bethesda. His eyes landed upon a man who “had been sick for thirty-eight years…[Jesus] asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’ ‘I can’t, sir,’ the sick man said, ‘for I have no one to put me into the pool when the water bubbles up. Someone else always gets there ahead of me’” (John 5:5-7 NLT).

What an odd question to ask a sick person: Would you like to get well? To us Jesus asks, “Would you like to get well?” Or do you like being sick? Getting well means getting up, getting a job, and getting to work. Do you really want to be healed? That’s the question Jesus asked then. That’s the question Jesus asks all of us still.

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BEING STUCK – August 18, 2021

The man near the pool of Bethesda didn’t use the word stuck, but he could have. For thirty-eight years near the edge of a pool, it was just him, his mat, and his paralyzed body. They must have made a miserable sight. Crowds of people—blind, lame, despondent, dejected, one after the other—awaiting their chance to be placed in the pool where healing waters bubbled up.

All the gospels’ stories of help and healing invite us to embrace this wonderful promise: “Wherever Jesus went he healed people of every sort of illness. And what pity he felt for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know what to do or where to go for help” (Matthew 9:35–36 TLB). Jesus had a heart for the hurting in his day. He still does today. http://www.MaxLucado.com

THE STORM WALKER – August 16, 2021

A wall of water eclipsed Peter’s view. A wind gust snapped the mast with a crack. Peter shifted his attention away from Jesus and toward the storm, and when he did, he sank like a brick in a pond. Give the storm more attention than the Storm Walker and get ready to do the same. Whether or not storms come, we cannot choose. But where we stare during a storm, we can.

God’s call to courage is not a call to naïveté or ignorance. We aren’t to be oblivious to the overwhelming challenges that life brings. We are to counterbalance them with long looks at God’s accomplishments. The scripture says, “We must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it” (Hebrews 2:1 NASB). Today do whatever it takes to keep your gaze on Jesus.

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LOOK OVER YOUR SHOULDER – August 12, 2021

“‘Don’t be afraid,’ Jesus said. ‘Take courage. I am here!’” (Matthew 14:27).

Power inhabits these words. To awaken in an ICU and hear your husband say, “I am here.” To lose your retirement yet feel the support of your family in the words “We are here.” When a Little Leaguer spots Mom and Dad in the bleachers watching the game, “I am here” changes everything.

Perhaps that’s why God repeats the “I am here” pledge so often. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28). We cannot go where God is not. Look over your shoulder; that’s God following you. Look into the storm; that’s Christ coming toward you.

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LET GOD INTERVENE – August 10, 2021

When we are in the midst of the problem, it’s difficult to see a way out. When we have limited resources, it’s difficult to imagine being able to work with what we have. But God already knows how he will solve your problem, my friend. And God has infinite resources. You are the human; he is the divine being. Let Him help you. Let him intervene.

The next time you feel overwhelmed, remind yourself of the one who is standing next to you. What bewilders you does not bewilder him. When you present your needs to him, he never, ever turns to the angels and says, “Well, it finally happened. I’ve been handed a code I cannot crack. The demand is too great, even for me.”

You may feel outnumbered, but he does not. Give him what you have, offer thanks, and watch him go to work.

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ALL THESE PEOPLE – August 6, 2021

Andrew said to Jesus, “There is a boy here with five loaves of barley bread and two fish. Oh, but what are these things when there are all these people?” (John 6:9).

What is your version of “all these people”? It might be something as pedestrian as “all this homework” or “all these long days.” The disciples counted the hungry people, the money in their bag, and the amount of bread and fish. They did not, however, count on Christ. And he was standing right there! The idea of soliciting his help did not dawn on them. Even so, Jesus went straight to work.

The impossible challenge of feeding “all these people” became the unforgettable miracle of all these people fed. What we cannot do, Christ does. And he will help you.

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GOD MADE YOU FOR MORE – August 5, 2021

The scripture says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).

Could you use some calm? God is ready to give it. It will require some work on your part. In fact, for some of you, God’s healing will include the help of therapy and/or medication. If that is the case, do not for a moment think that you are a second-class citizen of heaven.

This much is sure: It is not God’s will that you lead a life of perpetual anxiety. He made you for more than a life of breath-stealing angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life, and he is ready to write it.

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C.A.L.M – August 4, 2021

The Scripture Hall of Fame that contains the twenty-third Psalm, the Lord’s Prayer, and John 3:16 should also display Philippians 4:4-8.

Celebrate God’s goodness. “Rejoice in the Lord always” (v. 4). Celebrate who he is, what he has done in your life, and celebrate his goodness, faithfulness, and forgiveness.

Ask God for help. Verse five says, “The Lord is at hand.” Because of the Lord’s nearness, we can ask him for what we need.

Leave your concerns with God. Verse six says, “With thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” State your concerns, then leave them in the hands of the father.

Verse 8: Meditate on good things. “Think about the things that are good and worthy of praise” (v. 8). We can transform our minds with conscious meditation on the good.

C.A.L.M. Calm.

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LET JESUS TAKE YOUR SINS – July 19, 2021

Denalyn and I had enjoyed a nice dinner at a local restaurant. As we received our bill, a church member spotted us and came over. After we chatted a few moments, he took our bill. “I’ll take this,” he said. Guess what? I let him do what he wanted to do. I let him take it away.

Someday we will stand before God. All of us will be present. All of us will have to give an account for our lives. Every thought, every deed, every action. Were it not for the grace of Christ, I would find this to be a very terrifying thought. Yet, according to Scripture, Jesus came to “take away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). On that day, I will point to Christ. When my list of sins is produced, I will gesture toward him and say, “He took it.” Let him take yours.

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DON’T GET LOST IN YOUR TROUBLES – July 12, 2021

Our minds cannot be full of God and, at the same time, full of fear. Don’t get lost in your troubles. Lift up your eyes! “He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in him, whose thoughts turn often to the Lord!” (Isaiah 26:3 TLB)

Are you troubled, restless, sleepless? Then rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. I dare you—I double-dog dare you—to expose your worries to an hour of worship. Your concerns will melt like ice on an August sidewalk!

Jeremiah draws a direct connection between faith and peace. He says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is in the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought” (Jeremiah 17:7-8 NKJV).

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THE INSIDE TRACK TO PEACE – July 9, 2021

The next time you fear the future, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty. Rejoice in what he has accomplished. Rejoice that he is able to do what you cannot do.

Fill your mind with thoughts of God: “He is the Creator, who is blessed forever” (Romans 1:25). “He is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “His years will never end” (Psalm 102:27).

He is king, supreme ruler, absolute monarch, an overlord of all history. An arch of his eyebrow and a million angels will pivot and salute! Every throne is a footstool to his. Every crown is papier-mache next to his. He consults no advisers, he needs no congress, he reports to no one. He is in charge.

Sovereignty gives the saint the inside track to peace. Others see the problems of the world and wring their hands. We see the problems of the world and bend our knees.

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HE IS ABLE TO DO WHAT YOU CANNOT – July 8, 2021

What will happen if your job disappears? Or your health diminishes? Or the economy takes a nosedive? Does God have a message for his people when calamity strikes? He certainly had a word for Isaiah. The prophet wrote:

“In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up…above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

God calmed the fears of Isaiah, not by removing the problem, but by revealing his divine power and presence. Rejoice that God is able to do what you cannot do! Your anxiety decreases as your understanding of your heavenly father increases.

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BENEATH THE SHADOW OF GOD’S WINGS – July 7, 2021

Control freaks are easily frustrated. We can’t take control, because control is not ours to take! The Bible has a better idea.  Rather than seeking control, relinquish it. Peace is within reach, not for lack of problems, but because of the presence of a sovereign Lord. Rather than rehearse the chaos of the world, rejoice in the Lord’s sovereignty, as  the apostle Paul did.

From prison he wrote: “The things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel, so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ” (Philippians 1:12-13). In the innermost of his being, Paul was a man who believed in the steady hand of a good God; protected, preserved by God’s love. He lived beneath the shadow of God’s wings. Do you?

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ENTRUST IT TO GOD – July 6, 2021

If anyone had a reason to be anxious it was the apostle Paul. Envision an old man as he gazes out the window of a Roman prison. Half-blind, squinting just to read. Awaiting trial before the Roman emperor. His future is as gloomy as his jail cell.

Yet to read his words, you’d think he’d just arrived at a Jamaican beach hotel. His letter to the Philippians bears not a word of fear or complaint. Not one! Instead, he lifts his thanks to God and calls on his readers to do the same. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” (Phil. 4:4)

Paul’s challenge is a decision deeply rooted in the confidence that God exists, that he is in control, and that he is good. Rejoice in the Lord—always! You can’t run the world, but you can entrust it to God.