Made Fresh Every Morning

Every morning I like to begin the day with a pot of freshly brewed Starbucks coffee. We buy the whole beans by the bag at Sams Club and grind them ourselves - a habit taught me by a special someone 16 years ago when we first wed. Call me a coffee snob, but nothing compares to the freshly ground smell and taste of grinding your own Starbucks! That steaming, caffeinated, tasty beverage is just what I need to clear the dirty cobwebs of the night's slumber from my mind.

Now is the time of year for fresh starts and new beginnings. And while the world celebrates a new beginning every 365 days, I'm reminded of a passage from Lamentations that is more relevant to my need for restarts:

"The faithful love of the LORD never ends!

His mercies never cease.

Great is his faithfulness;

his mercies begin afresh each morning." 

Lamentations 3:22,23

Let's take a closer look at that last phase, "his mercies begin afresh each morning." First of all, who are we talking about? God, right? The creator, sustainer, and our all-powerful Father. He is the one who holds life and death in the palm of His hands. His "mercies" are available to each one of us. Mercy means compassion or forgiveness and I know I need it. Regardless of how hard I try to live within God's will, I know I still fail. I need his mercy! Without it, I would feel lost. I would be hopeless. When do God's mercies begin? "Each morning!" Every day you can start with a fresh beginning. Erase your past. It's a new day! You've made mistakes. You've messed up. You've failed your closest friend. But God is making it alright...every day! Every morning! Here's what you can know:

Because "his mercies begin afresh each morning" you can reject any thoughts of failure, depression, and inadequacy.

Because "his mercies begin afresh each morning" you can begin each day with a new, positive attitude. Your past is behind you. It's a new day!

Because "his mercies begin afresh each morning" you can know that the night thoughts in your head are not based on truth nor God's plan for your life. You can start your day knowing you are a child of God.

Because "his mercies begin afresh each morning" you can begin your day with renewed strength and energy provided by God's love and grace.

So while I desire that fresh cup of Starbucks coffee every day, even more so God's mercies are needed by me each morning. I am comforted in knowing God accepts me. His compassion is renewed daily. And His love never ends!

Are you being "sifted" today?

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat." - Luke 22:31

This verse was in my daily Bible reading this past week. I had never noticed it before. Jesus was speaking to former fisherman turned apostle, Simon Peter, AKA "The Rock."  Peter would go on to be one of the pillars of the early church in Jerusalem. But right now we come upon the scene in Luke 22 right before Jesus would invite Peter along with James and John to join him in prayer on the Mount of Olives. This late-night prayer vigil precedes His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.

Satan makes a request of Jesus regarding his followers. Just let that sink in. Satan, Lucifer, the Devil is asking to shake up, tempt, and disrupt not just Simon Peter, but ALL of the Apostles with deception, pride, and lies. Do you recall this every happening in scripture before? Remember Job?

In the opening chapter of the Old Testament book of Job, Satan comes to God and makes some type of cosmic deal over the life of this godly man. Satan's accusation is that Job would curse God to His face if he were allowed to take away everything he has - his wealth, his family, his health. In a startling moment God says basically, "Go for it!" 

What!? Are you kidding? What about "guardian angels" and hedges around God's people?! How could God just "allow" Satan to work his deception and destruction upon one of God's faithful!? And Why? Why would God allow it?

Now, in the New Testament, with the Apostles we see a similar scene. God is allowing Satan access to followers of Christ to do as he pleases.

I would have expected Jesus to say, "Nope! Sorry. Those are my guys. I have just spent 3 years teaching and training them. "You can't touch this (them)!" BUT HE DIDN'T! His response?

"But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." - Luke 22:32

Really?! "I'm praying for you?" That was Jesus' response? No "Don't worry about this. I got your back? No "He can't harm you. I've covered you with my protection!?" Nothing except, "I'll pray for you?!" What?!!!!!

This begs the question: Why does God (Jesus) allow Satan to "sift" those who follow Him? There must be a purpose, a reason behind it all.

The answer lies in the words of James, the brother of Jesus, when he writes this:

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."

He continues:

"Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Whoa...this is a different perspective. Instead of security and safety, maybe trails, testing, and perseverance are what the Christian should be rejoicing with. Perhaps the purpose of Jesus allowing Satan to "sift" us goes much deeper than we thought. Maybe in breaking us down, we can actually come back stronger than before. James seems to be saying that. After we go through "the fire" we exit "mature and complete." What more do we need? NOTHING, says James.

Are you being "sifted" today by Satan? You may not even know it. However, God may be allowing it. Maybe it's in your finances. Family. Marriage. Work. Some area of your life may be stressing you out and you are unsure how to handle it. Don't give up. Get stronger. Rise above it! Persevere beyond it!

Jesus had full confidence that Simon Peter would win in the end. He said, "when you have turned back," help your brothers. You can overcome Satan too! How do I know?! Because I know that:

"...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" - 1 John 4:4

 

God Blesses us With a Cockroach

"EEEK! THAT IS BIG!" shrieked my wife as she quickly exited the little bathroom in our hotel room.

"What is it?" I said, looking up from the hotel tablet on the desk that had captured my attention.

"There's a cockroach in there next to the toilet!"

I stood up and went into the bathroom to inspect. Peeling off a strip of toilet paper from the dispenser, I pressed down on the unwelcome intruder, picked it up, and quickly dropped it in the toilet, and flushed it down, then returned to the room.

"You're my hero!" She exclaimed.

Just then my phone chimed and a text message lit it up. It was from the hotel:

"Just checking in--how is your stay going so far? Feel free to reply back with a 1-5 (5 being excellent). Have a great day! - Jared"

I'm not one to complain, and even now I wasn't intending to, but since they asked, I replied:

"1 - bad timing. My wife just came out of the bathroom asking me to kill the roach in there. I flushed it down the toilet."

My wife and I were on a weekend get-away, a gift from the KCC leadership, and I surprised her with a night at a famous and historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. My wife had longed to stay at there for as long as she can remember, but didn't think it was a possibility due to the cost. Even with just one night, we knew it would be spending well over half our budget for the weekend. But there are times when you just tell your wife, "Honey, you're worth it!" This was one of those times.

As we were planning out our morning exploration, I received another text message on my phone. This one said:

"My sincere apologies Mr. Severance, I have adjusted your room rate by half for the inconvenience and I have also notified our property operations team. - Justin J"

I was speechless as I tossed my phone onto the bed for my wife to read the text. After she read it, she said, "I think God blessed us with that cockroach!" 

As I considered her words, I thought of the verse in Romans, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

Despite the circumstances, we can know God is still active and working in the lives of those who love him. What a great reminder, in such a simple way, that "God has got this!" 

His blessings come unexpectedly, and so often, in ways you would not recognize. So the next time you encounter a "cockroach" across your path, just remember as you take care of the problem, God may have a blessing in store for you later on!

A Necessary Removal

My wife bought a new Samsung smart phone recently. We set it up by transferring all her contacts and most of her apps from her old phone. However, when she started using it, we noticed that the volume didn't seem to work. I checked the volume in settings thinking maybe there was a limit set on it or something, but everything seemed fine there. We turned the volume all the way up and all the way down, but it made no difference. She could make a phone call and people could hear her talking, but she couldn't hear them although the call appeared to be connected.

We Googled volume issues with this phone and found other people had similar issues. The volume couldn't be turned up. We tried their solutions, but nothing solved our issue.

Finally, we decided to call Verizon and exchange this faulty phone for a replacement. The Verizon representative was very helpful and patient, as they always are. He allowed me to explain the problem, then tried calling the phone himself. The volume issue was still there. Then he asked a question I'm embarrassed to admit to you. "Is there a plastic sheet covering the front of the phone?"

"Of course not," I thought, as I closely looked at the screen. Sure enough, right there on the front face of the phone was a thin plastic sheet used for protecting the phone during shipping! I slowly peeled it off, thinking "there's no way this little sheet would affect the volume."

As soon as I peeled off the cover, the phone's volume came alive! We could hear apps, phone calls, ring tones, everything! Embarrassingly, I admitted to the representative that he had solved the problem and we didn't need to send the phone back.

The most amazing part of this story is that such a small, thin, inexpensive piece of plastic could make such a huge impact on this sophisticated, expensive smart phone. Yet its presence basically rendered the product unusable.

This story reminds me of how we must treat sin. Sin disables us from functioning as follower's of Christ. Sin, thought sometimes small, can cause great pain and discomfort. It must be removed from our lives just as this piece of plastic needed to be removed from the phone.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles..." 

Achan, from the tribe of Judah, stole some of the devoted things (Joshua 7-9) and brought God's judgement upon the entire nation of Israel. He thought it just a small deception, but in God's eyes it was huge.

Sin can be thought of as small, but it's consequences are massive! It may go unnoticed for some time. It may be ignored, but ultimately, it leads to pain, destruction, and death.

James 1:13-15 says, we're tempted by our own evil desires, "then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." 

Remove from your life any sinful behavior, no matter how small it may seem. Strive to live a life holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1).

And finally, make sure you take off that plastic cover that comes on your new smart phone!

Constant in Prayer

Prayer can be an intimidating word to some people. To some it may be thought of as only something the paid clergy or staff can do. Other people may be put off by the traditional folding of hands, closing of eyes and bowing of the head. Yet prayer in its simplest form is just talking or directing your thoughts to the one who created us. Here are three thoughts that may change your perspective when it come to prayer.

1. Prayer is a mindset and not a formal speech. 

Scripture exhorts us to "pray without ceasing." In other words, to live with the continual awareness of God's presence and that He is listening to not only our words but our thoughts as well. In my parent's home to this day, there is always a radio on. It's not loud, but it's on. It's a foundational audio track that lies underneath any and all conversations in the house. Music, news, and weather continuously permeate the area. This radio connection is rarely severed. Prayer is similar; the channel to speak to God is always open. It's on ongoing transcendant dialog.

2. Function trumps form when it comes to prayer. 

The function or purpose of prayer is to communicate with God. There is nowhere in the Bible that sets forth the form or position by which to pray. In fact, you might be surprised to learn the Bible only gives examples of a prayer posture. In John 17:1 we find Jesus looking up to heaven as He prayed; Luke 22:41 finds Jesus kneeling as he prayed; and in Matthew 26:38 Jesus is laying prostate as He prayed. So there is no perfect prayer posture to assume while we speak with God. In other words, you can't do it wrong. When people fold their hands and close their eyes to pray, they are doing so to help them focus on God and what they are saying.

3. God desires our conversation.

What dad doesn't enjoy talking to their children? God, Abba Father, likewise wants to dialog with us, His children. God cares deeply about each one of us. In fact, he cares about the smallest details of our lives. The end result of a fruitful prayer life is a healthy relationship between Father and child.

If prayer isn't already a regular part of your life, begin today knowing there's nothing mystical or formal about it. Just simply talk to your Father. "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, constant in prayer!" Romans 12:12

Waking up

As I woke Sunday morning, my life played out in my mind. It was surreal. All the pivotal points in my lifetime came to mind. My choice of college. My marriage. Various jobs. Career choices. Every major turning point in my life materialized in my head.  What was strange about each turning point was that there was someone who simply asked me to move in that direction. I found this fascinating and frightening at the same time. My life could literally be boiled down to a handful of people who simply asked me to do something! The power of the simple "ask" is amazing.

What about you? Why are you where you are right now? I don't mean why are you sitting at your computer reading this. But why are you living where you are and doing what you're doing? Are you living out a life-long dream you had as a youth? Have you yearned for the place you are in life right now? Or are you more like me? You've said "Yes" to someone several times and this is where you've ended up.

Two thoughts came to my mind as I mulled my life  choices over that morning:

1. My responses to  being asked to alter the entire trajectory of my life (though I didn't know it at the time) was almost a knee-jerk reaction. Like picking up a candy bar in the grocery check-out line, I quickly considered the request and said, "Yes."
2. The request didn't always come from the person I considered best to advise me at the time. I'm uncertain if they had my best interest at heart.  

The Bible contains story after story where lives were pivoted on a simple request.

"Go from your country, your people...to the land I will show you." (Abram)

"Go to the great city of Nineveh" (Jonah)

"Come follow me!" (Peter) 

"Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street" (Saul later Paul)  

The Bible is quite clear that God is indeed orchestrating our lives. "God works all things out for the good of those who love Him and are called for a purpose." Despite a disinterested messenger, the hasty choices, or worldly circumstances, He still pieces together the parts of our lives for His glory.

So whether you are the one doing the asking or the one making the decision - know that in the former, God will use your words and make them more powerful than you ever could, and in the latter, God will go with you on your journey. 

A Dangerous Follower on Twitter

I have terrible news. When I first saw it, my heart skipped a beat. I froze for a moment. I didn't know what to do. Can I tell you what it is? Are you ready? Brace yourself, because it may come as a shock to you too!

SATAN is following me! Actually, SATAN is following our CHURCH! How do I know? A notification popped up on my computer screen just last week. See? Right there on the church twitter account. A new follower. @MisterDevil_666

Some would say, "Oh, just ignore it." or "You can block him, you know!" But I'm not so sure he would go away that easily. In fact, I'm not sure he hasn't already been following me for a long time.

I've read that Satan lurks around just looking for a chance to pounce on a defenseless victim. The Bible says, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." When the Lord spoke to Satan about his whereabouts in Job he replied, I've come from..."roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it." Satan isn't off in some other galaxy; he's living right here on earth!

So, what should we do? How do we defend ourselves and our church? Again, scripture comes to the rescue with the words of James:

1. Submit yourselves to God.
2. Resist the Devil
3. He will flee from you
4. Come near to God

See how these words of advice are bookended by God? We protect ourselves from Satan's advances by first submitting to God and then by getting and staying close to Him. Only when we have God's protection surrounding us can we resist Satan. 

So, even though Satan may be following us, he can't overpower us because "He who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." 

The fact that Satan is following us is beyond our control. Have you ever had someone follow you and try to dissuade them. Maybe a boy or girl had crush on you in school? Or maybe someone was simply trying to contact you? Did you notice the more you avoided them, the more they pursued you? Their implacable desire to follow you increased despite your efforts. 

What is in our control is our response. See that "Follow" button at the bottom of the screen shot above? Satan may follow you; but road to destruction begins if you follow him back!

Scripture References: 1 Peter 5:8; Job 1:7; James 4:7; 1 John 4:4