THANKFUL

Chatting with Jesus

Monday, June 26, 2023

Lord, I’ve read the scripture many times, but it never jumped out at me until you said, “Jump!” I thought I had my “stuff” altogether. Surely, I controlled my actions and words, staying positive, avoiding negativity. After all, don’t I write stories about you, Jesus?  Wouldn’t others label me a “super saint?” You wasted no time reprimanding my inner man.

Stop this nonsense, big boy. Read that passage again, slower this time.

“A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls,”—Proverbs 25:28 (NLT)

A thorough examination of my actions exposed my spiritual flaws. Certainly, there are areas in my life and behaviors that, through discipline, I control. I make a habit of spending time in your Word daily, even if it is only five minutes. I avoid situations that could lead to temptations to compromise my values. I strive to treat all folks with Christlike respect and civility, but I will not hang out with judgmental, biased people. And Lord, I cannot tolerate any bigotry.

But the closer I examined myself, your “nonsense” comment made sense. As a self-confessed political junkie, am I putting my absorption with toxic political websites and talk shows before you? Where is my tongue’s self-control when I hear rumors and juicy gossip? Where is my self-control when it concerns my temper and driving? Or food? How about TV? Hobbies? Am I an impulse shopper?  Do I fall for enticing advertisements? Is my self-control to pray for my enemies AWOL? Lord, you revealed more self-control deficiencies than I can list here.

Lord, strengthen my spiritual self-control, so I won’t be a “city with broken walls,” giving the enemy of my soul easy access to my spirit. Help me become a strong fortress that my spiritual enemies are unable to penetrate. Amen, Jesus.

Chatting with Jesus

Friday, June 23, 2023

Lord, your Word speaks volumes about believers needing to live holy lives. “Be holy, as I am holy,” your Word mandates in 1 Peter 1:16. Christ followers’ holiness should make them stand out from the herd. We should reflect your love and grace to everyone. You have given us a message of reconciliation, how you, Lord, give the broken a clean slate and a new lease on life through placing our trust in you, Jesus. Sadly, at times our ‘holiness’ is a turnoff.

Over time, religions and the self-righteous strived to be holy by their own merits only to live frustrated and fearful.

One religious sect dresses a certain way that identifies them as holy. They carefully observe strict personal restrictions less they lose their salvation. Another group disciplines themselves to speak only in religious terms in all interactions. Good luck trying to have a normal conversation with these folks. Still others point fingers at fellow believers because they feel God must be worshiped a certain traditional way. They stomp their feet and claim anything deviant from their holy worship style is ‘blasphemous.’

It is easy to see how skeptics look at some believers as nutty as a fruitcake. Where is their joy that the Scriptures promised believers?

Your Word is plain who makes a believer holy—you do, Lord.

“Salvation that came through the [God’s] Spirit, who makes you holy …” 2 Thessalonians 2:13

“[God] he made you holy by means of Christ Jesus … “1 Corinthians 1:2

Lord, without exception, your work developing your followers’ holiness continues for a lifetime. Even the Apostle Paul stated he had yet to reach that point of holiness, (Philippians 3:12, 13).

Am I imperfect? Terribly so, without a doubt.

Forgiven? By your grace alone.

Holy? Certainly not by my efforts but only through you, Jesus.

For all who place their faith in you, Lord, this is our joy: our heavenly Father sees us as his holy people. That makes me wanna dance.

Amen.

Chatting with Jesus

Thursday, June 22, 2023

Lord, I wondered where all the grass on my patio came from. Then I spotted the bird nest in the eve of the patio cover. Some little momma bird worked tirelessly to build a home for her coming family. When I told my family about the bird nest, and of course texted pictures to my friends, everyone insisted I leave the nest as is, or risk being canceled by the woke culture.

Two days later, the nest lay on the patio floor, and the little eggs shattered. Heartbroken, I broke the news to my family. It bummed the afternoon. As I respectfully disposed of the remains, wishing them Godspeed, your Spirit reminded me of your teaching in Matthew 10 how nothing in this life slips by you—not even the demise of a sparrow.

“But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it”— Matthew 10:29 (NLT).

Lord, I love when you talk to my inner man. I’m saddened too. The sparrow is one of my favorite creations. I know all about the poor little momma bird’s loss. I saw the nest fall. But please know that if I have my eye on the sparrow, I certainly can take care of you.

Lord, you certainly take care of us. You provide our needs, give us food and shelter, nurse us back to health when we’re sick. We are  blessed with a wonderful family. Our dear friends are beyond marvelous. You cover us with your grace and mercy—and pursue us when we have lost our way.

If your eye is on the sparrow, I know you are watching over me, Jesus. Amen.

Chatting with Jesus

Wednesday, June 21, 2023

Lord, throughout Scripture, we’re instructed to ‘fear’ the Lord. Yet, whenever Scripture records an angel appearing to someone, the first words from the angel are, “Don’t be afraid,” or “fear not!” Can people take fear the Lord, and Fear not, don’t be afraid as contradictory statements? Perhaps. Skeptics look for perceived contradictions. Lord, we pray you open their blind eyes to biblical precepts.

In biblical terms, fear the Lord does not mean we are to be afraid of you. Far from it. You are our heavenly Father who wants your children to come to you. Fear means we hold you in awe, wonderment, reverence. You are the only true God, worthy of all worship and praise. The psalmist in his wisdom recorded:

“He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect. The good life begins in the fear of God—Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God” —Psalm 111:10 (The Message).

Lord, to fear you is to love you with all our heart, mind, and strength, and to keep your commandments. To fear you is to love our neighbor as ourselves. To fear you is to acknowledge you in everything we do and devote our words and actions to please you. To fear you is to never hesitate to call upon you when we are tempted to compromise our values, which for most, happens daily.

To fear you is to recognize “afraid fear” is not from you.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind”       2Timothy 1:7 (NLT)

Lord, I fear you. Why should I be afraid? Amen, Jesus.

Chatting with Jesus

Monday, June 19, 2023

Lord, sacrifices for forgiveness and to honor you have been offered since you revealed yourself to mankind.

You made the first sacrifice for Adam and Eve after they sinned through disobedience. You shed the blood of a perfect, innocent animal to cover their sin. You take sin seriously and set the pattern for obtaining forgiveness through the shedding of innocent blood.

The psalmist describes your response to these blood sacrifices. To paraphrase, the Lord says, you think you are honoring me, but your sacrifices mean nothing—your heart is cold toward me. You are mechanical, mindlessly going through the motions of worship, (Psalm 50). Talk about being blunt.

Even after the ultimate sacrifice of the shedding of your Son Jesus’ blood on the cross for our redemption from sin, our hearts are not always fully engaged in worship. We may virtue-signal how we deny ourselves an activity or cease a meaningless endeavor just to appear pious. Our actions may fool some, but Lord, you know our heart.

You revealed to the psalmist the sacrifice you desire:

“Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God, and keep the vows you made to the Most High,” (Psalm 50:14) (NLT)

Complaining and thankfulness cannot coexist. Worshiping you, God, from a thankful heart makes keeping our commitment to follow you much easier.

A thankful heart acknowledges you are our source of life, and in You, God, we move, live, and have our being (Acts 17:38).

A thankful heart allows joy and peace reign in our heart.

A thankful heart compels us to share the Good News of your love, mercy, and grace through faith in our Savior, Jesus

“But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me,”—Psalm 50:23(NLT)

You have the final Word, Jesus. Amen!

Chatting with Jesus

Friday, June 16, 2023

Lord, that one little three-letter word has the power to change the direction of a life for the better or for the worse. That simple, yet authoritative, word: let. Scripture instructs us to let your Spirit guide our lives. It’s our choice. We can let your Spirit speak to our spirit to guide us in your will, or we can ignore your leading and do our own thing. Sadly, too often I’ve made that latter choice.

Perhaps another word would be allow. Since it’s our choice, we should allow your Spirit to guide our journey.

You said, “Let not your heart be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me” (John 14:1). You see the chaos and turmoil erupting around us, infecting our society, destroying our culture? You say, “Don’t let [allow] this mess to rattle you or shake you from your faith. Trust me. Let [allow] me to increase your faith. I know what I’m doing.”

Your Word says, “Let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts,” (Colossians 3:15). I don’t know why anyone would resist letting your peace rule in their heart. Why choose anxiety and fear, when you simple invite us to, “Let my peace reside in your heart.”

The psalmist experienced how praise and worship unleashes your peace upon our troubled souls. “Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord … let all the upright in heart exult,” (Psalm 64:10). Why stay upset over temporary trials. I will let my soul “rejoice in the God of my salvation,” (Habakkuk 3:18).

Lord, may I let your Spirit direct my path. May I allow you access to every part of my being.

Amen, Jesus.

Chatting with Jesus

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Lord, your love touches my heart. I get teary eyed whenever I read the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). This wayward boy lost his bearings and wasted years mired in his stupid mode. Being restless and thinking he had the world at his fingertips, he demanded his inheritance from his father. Of course, the father knew his son was making a monumental mistake, but he did not go against his grown son’s wishes.

How painful to release a child to make their own mistakes. It’s worse than a dagger piercing our heart. We desire to spare them the pain that awaits their foolish actions.

Daily, the father bathed his son in prayer, expecting his return.

Of course, we know what befell the boy. He squandered his treasure on temporary pleasures that never satisfied his longings. No surprise, before long, he was broke and destitute, living in a pig pen. He faced his facepalm moment and came to his senses. He headed home to humble himself before his father, hoping for mercy, even though he felt unworthy to be his son.

Lord, I love this part. The father wasn’t looking for his perfect son—he was looking for his broken son. The father ran to meet his bruised and battered child and welcomed him home to restore him his rightful place within his family.

Lord, this is my story. This is all Christ follower’s stories. Our brokenness may not be that of the prodigal, but spiritually, we all were broken. You never scolded us. You just ran to embrace our brokenness and take it upon yourself. What a comforting truth: you meet us where we are lavishing us with your love, forgiveness, and grace to welcome us home.

Only you, Lord, only you. Amen.

Chatting with Jesus

Tuesday, June 13, 2023

Lord, all you redeem have a story. Christ followers tell how your grace and mercy opened our spiritual eyes to our sinful condition. Aware of our plight, we didn’t need a religion, a creed, a doctrine or take a religion class, we needed someone to rescue us from our sins.

Jesus, I was an undeserving sinner, aimlessly wandering through life, trying to make sense of it all, when you came to my rescue. My story of trusting you and how your grace covered my sins is the same as a myriad of others.

Life appeared hopeless for countless poor souls. Destructive addictions, drugs, alcohol, porn—ruined lives, careers, and marriages. Hostile spouses drove their partners to just check out on life and retreat into themselves, defeated in soul and spirit. Abusive relationship crushed tender spirits and took innocence from the most vulnerable. Those manipulating and mean people bulldozing over people to get what they want, were hated by decent folks.

You didn’t want to leave us that way.

Jesus, when you came on the scene, their stories changed. The overwhelming power of God proves no one who humbles themselves and turns to you is beyond redemption. The power of your love and your grace, which redeems sinful man, makes possible salvation from our sins. Welcome to a new life of identity with Christ.

Hopelessness is a thing of the past. Despair no longer has any place in our life. Fear of what lies ahead fades as hope settles in for the long haul. Jesus—the hope of glory—has changed another life (Colossians 1:27).

Redeemed—how sweet the sound. Amen, Jesus.

Chatting with Jesus

Monday, June 12, 2023

Lord, you taught the truth about the Kingdom of God. Everyday people gladly accepted your messages. However, the religious elites dismissed your teachings as heresy since it was contrary to the proper narrative of traditions and rituals established by the elites. When you proclaimed “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to God the Father except through me” (John 14:6), your claims sent them into a tirade.

Since the ugly snake/apple incident in the Garden of Eden when Satan lied to Adam and Eve, the devil offers a counterfeit to God’s truth.

Jesus’ truth: “For God so loved the world he gave his only Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life,” (John 3:16).

Satan’s counterfeit: Believing is not enough. One must work your way to God and then he will let you into Heaven if your ‘good’ deeds exceeds your ‘bad’ deeds.

Jesus’ truth: God loves everyone regardless of who we are or what we have done. He may not like the things we do, but God will never stop loving us. He desires a personal relationship with everyone (2 Peter 3:9).

Satan’s counterfeit: Working diligently at keeping religious rules, rituals and observing traditions will make your worthy enough to earn God’s love.

Jesus’ truth: Jesus calls us to come to him just as we are, broken and shamed, and let him make the changes we are unable to make ourselves. Your grace is for everyone who believes (Ephesians 2:8).

Satan’s counterfeit: God will accept you, but first, you must clean up your act before coming to him.

Lord Jesus, you are truth. You said we will know the truth, and the truth will set us free (John 8:32). Help us reject any counterfeit immediately. We wanna live in the truth. Amen.

Chatting with Jesus

Friday, June 9, 2023

Lord, some statements you declared as truth about yourself set the religious rulers off on a rant. One statement in particular blew a gasket in their theology. What did you say that stirred such a ruckus?

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6).

This statement creates controversy among theologians even today. You presented a simple, non-complicated plan for anyone seeking God: “follow me only.”

Everything begins with you, Jesus. First you stated, “I am the way …” Question is—what are you the way to, Jesus? The way to salvation and eternal life? The way to internal peace? The way to God the Father? Yes, the Father. All this and endless more.

As our good shepherd, Jesus, you lead and we will follow. You are not in back, driving us forward. You never said, “You guys go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.” Just a simple command. “Follow me.”

This world offers many paths that claim leads to you, God. “Jesus is just one way among many ways to get you to heaven. All religions lead to God,” the elite intelligentsia claim. Everything is relevant. Right and wrong is up to the individual. Most damaging—your truth is your truth despite reality and contrary evidence.

From the extraordinary miracles and prophecies you fulfilled that perplexed the religious elites, to your love and forgiveness for anyone who humbled themselves, that angered the same religious elites, you revealed your deity. “Trust in God. Trust also in me,” you said. I’ll lead you to the Father.

Right behind you, Jesus. Amen.