THANKFUL

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

Lord, as Your followers living in this broken world, we sometimes feel unworthy to be identified as Yours. The enemy of our soul constantly brings up our past, replaying our failures, claiming we’re too imperfect for You to use us. In our busyness, the distractions of everyday life draw me away from spending time with You. We’re blinded as to who we are, but worse, distractions cause us to forget who You are.

Then the guilt tries to worm itself in. “Oh, poor baby!” I wail, dripping in self-pity. “I’m useless for the Kingdom,” I invite whoever will listen to join me in my pity party. “How can God use me? After all, look how flawed I am.”

“Enough of that nonsense!” Your response to my invitation brings me back to reality. “Why do you doubt My grace?” You ask. “You’re no longer identified by who you once were. I’ve put My stamp of the Holy Spirit on you, guaranteeing you are redeemed and a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). You’re mine! I’ll give you everything you need to do what I ask if you’ll just trust Me.”

“Forgive me, Lord,” I confess. Help me remember in the busyness of life that my life is wrapped up in You.

“C’mon, my child, let’s expand My Kingdom.” I accept Your invitation, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Monday, September 20, 2021

Lord, You know how living in humility is a daily work project for me. In my normal, everyday activities, the devil subtly slips in a temptation for me to “show off” in some way or use my accomplishments to intimate “I’m important. Look what I’ve done!” He tells me I’m a self-made man. “You did this on your own. God is too busy striking people with lightning to help you!” What a liar!

He snuck in that pride factor when talking to Eve in the Garden, casting doubt on God’s goodness. “God knows when you eat from it [Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil] your eyes will be opened,” he said. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). She and Adam fell for the lie. Instead of being like God, their pride created a chasm no man could cross between them and God. That separation has been mankind’s problem ever since. But this is no lie: TRUTH—God sent Jesus to bridge that chasm so we could be reconciled back to God. Oh, Jesus, I’m nothing without You. Open my eyes to recognize when pride tries to elevate itself in my life. I’ll never be Your equal.

I’m thankful, Jesus, You are our bridge to God the Father. Amen

Thursday, September 16, 2021

Lord, for years I was afraid of You. I pictured You standing in the on-deck circle, taking practice swings with a big club, just waiting to smack me on the head every time I screwed up. Perhaps this wrong image of You came from the fire-and-brimstone sermons I heard every Sunday morning, Sunday nights, and Wednesday evenings. This religious upbringing caused me to misunderstand who You are. Religious teachings of that time emphasized that strict adherence to religious rules was the only ticket to heaven. Talk about pressure. Break one rule and better get use to extreme heat. Although we sang “Amazing Grace” at every funeral, growing up, I seldom heard grace mentioned in sermons. Everything about You terrified me.

But for years You were trying to tell me You were not mad at me—You loved me. You wanted to be my personal God through Jesus. Once I understood who Jesus really is, and how He took my sins on the cross, Matthew 11:29-30 had a new meaning: “. . . My yoke is easy, and My burden light.” You know my deepest secrets, every unholy thought, every bias, yet You want me to hang out with You anyway. Once I understood Your grace, salvation became clear in Your Word: “What must we do to perform the works of God. Jesus replied, ‘The work of God is this: to believe in the One [Jesus] He sent.’” Having a loving personal relationship with You wasn’t far-fetched at all.

So thankful to be yoked to You Jesus instead of religion. Amen.

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

Lord, as Your followers, we are to be the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). Our spiritual salt, dispersed by the Holy Spirit, preserves our faith and upholds Your values as well as adding zest, peace, and living hope to our life and the lives of others in our world. But we must remember another characteristic of salt: salt kills. Nothing grows where salt has polluted the soil.  Once fertile fields can lie in waste for decades after being sown with salt. Therefore, we must be cautious how much salt we spread when we share Your message of redemption through the cross. Give us godly wisdom to keep our zeal for the Gospel under control.  The devil tempts our pride to point a finger and compare our self-righteousness against those poor souls who “have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).  Lord, may we not fall into that ugly sin. When speaking to someone who is seeking You, help us keep our spiritual salt focused on Your grace and mercy. That message gives hope. When we harp on the flaws of our fellow man and emphasize how horrible their sins and failures are, and then take Scripture out of context about how You hate sin, our excessive salt piles more guilt on them, and “Boom!” just like that, we’ve killed our message, hitting ‘em on the head with the entire salt lick. Lord, help us spread our salt in ways that draw people to You.

Striving to be the salt of the earth You called us to be, Jesus. Amen.

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Lord, You choose the weirdest, strangest, most dysfunctional people to be Your followers. You certainly didn’t choose them for their talents. For most, people skills were not their forte either. People who know me wholeheartedly agree. Your Bible does not sugarcoat or hide the flaws and failures of Your people. Reviewing the stories of some of the “saintly” characters recorded in Hebrews 11, faith’s “Hall of Fame,” makes me wonder how You could use them to further Your kingdom. Abraham failed to honor his wife Sarah before kings, Isaac tried to manipulate God’s will, and who could justify the lies and deceptions of Jacob’s sons. Rahab, the “lady of the night?” David, the adulterer and murderer. Solomon with his 700 wives and 300 girlfriends—what’s this nonsense of Solomon’s wisdom? All these actions of God’s people make the Kardashians look Amish. In addition, carefully examining Your genealogy, we see flawed people who we would be uncomfortable having over for Thanksgiving. Yet with all these people , You saw something in them that greatly pleased You: they were willing to follow You and obey what You commanded. You did what they could not do. You turned their weaknesses into their strength. You transformed their fears into a holy boldness. And the greatest miracle of all, You changed their hardened hearts into conduits of Your Love and Grace, so much so that they changed the world. We too hope to please You, Lord, as we’re willing to let You use our peculiar traits to change our world. I too want to please You, Lord. May I be willing to allow You to use my peculiarities and my flaws to make a difference in the world around me (2 Corinthians 12:8,9).

You have me Jesus, flaws and all. I’m Yours. Amen.

Monday, September 13, 2021

Lord, our hearts break in deep sorrow when we lose those closest to us here on earth. Our spouse, our father, our mother, our sister, our brother, and oh, Lord forbid, our child. Our anguish is too much to bear, our tears flow endlessly. Because we’re trapped living in this broken world, we all knew we’d face this day at some point, but this day came unexpectedly too soon. From their deep sorrow and pain, many asks where is God? And that’s okay. God can handle questions like that. He understands anger too. He gets angry how sin brought death and separation into the world. Jesus wept when He saw the pain and hurt that death brought to Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha. But their sorrow turned to joy when You called Lazarus from the grave (John 11).

But Lord, in our grieving, You are near. You are near, taking our loved one’s hand to lead them across the Jordan to rest in Your arms, forever free from pain, brokenness, and worry. You are near as we must stay here for now, experiencing the loneliness of missing our loved one, seeing and touching all they left behind. You are near as we feel the sting of Your tears falling on our face, comforting us that You know our pain and cry with us. We’re grateful for You Jesus since, “we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of everyone, especially those who believe” (1 Timothy 4:10).

Jesus, our lives are anchored in You, our living hope. Amen.

Friday, September 10, 2021,  

Lord, I need to stay close to You. This fallen world offers so many distractions vying for my attention.  I’m troubled how easily I get off-track in living for You. You warned us how “our salt can lose its saltiness and become useless” (Matthew 5:13). Lord, help me be known as a salty Christ-follower. I will need Your Spirit’s help in keeping my saltiness from being corrupted by unbelief, or carnal influences that compromise my integrity. Or worse—little sins I do that I consider “innocent.” Your cross says those “innocent” sins put You on the cross just as much as those sins Scripture calls an abomination. Forgive me, Lord, and cleanse the impurities from my saltshaker.  May my words and actions represent what Your Gospel is all about — mercy, grace, and forgiveness for all wounded souls who are broken in spirit. Holy Spirit, use my salt to point them to You. The closer I get to You, Jesus, the more Your salt rubs off on me.

Let me be a willing saltshaker to let Your salt flavor the world around me, Jesus. Amen

Thursday, September 9, 2021

Lord, since You called me to be the “salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13), help me remember my purpose as a saltshaker.  Not only does my salt add flavor to life, but my salt also preserves that which it gives flavor. The message of the salt, that Jesus took my place on the cross to save me from my sins and give me eternal life, preserves my grateful heart and the joys that salt brings. Intimately daily worshipping You increases my salt intake, communing and listening to Your voice, adoring Your goodness preserves my faith and enables me to encourage others who need a daily dose of salt to keep going. Oh, Lord, enlarge my saltshaker to hold more salt to disperse.

Help me spread salt everywhere I go, Lord, Amen.

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Lord, You called me to make a difference in my world. We are to have an impact on those around us, as I live a changed life with a righteousness that is not of my own doing. So, help me understand the significance of being “the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13). When I chose to surrender my life to You and become a Christ-follower, did I also become a salt lick? Seriously, Lord, what do You mean I’m the salt of the earth? Considering the purpose of salt, Your meaning slowly emerged.

Salt adds flavor. Salt makes the bland come alive, the ho-hum to rousing, the another boring day into “What are You gonna do today, Lord?” The joy of redemption from sin and made alive in Jesus—this “salt”—is hard to contain. Our soul burst forth with a new zeal for life and a love for others we can’t explain as other than our regenerated spirit for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

May I become a saltshaker to those Your Holy Spirit sends my way.. Help me be relentless in telling my story with those searching for meaning and purpose. Your forgiveness and grace brought joy to my spiritually aimless life, Jesus, You can give them significance as Your child. Who says salt is unhealthy?

Thankful being Your saltshaker, Jesus, Amen.

Friday, September 3, 2021

Lord, You do for us what is impossible for us to do. You called us to “be perfect, as Your heavenly Father is perfect” Matthew 5:48. What? Your comment leaves us dumbfounded, wondering how we can keep such an impossible command. How can we keep Your command to be “perfect” when we were born with a sin nature? You know it’s impossible for us to keep Your edit, so You made a divine plan to do what we can’t do, which involved Your marvelous grace, but also involved the cross — shame, suffering, and death — and resurrection on Easter Sunday.  Jesus, when we trust in Your finished work on the cross, where You exchanged Your righteousness, Your perfection, for our sins and failures, You would declare all who did so as righteous, or “perfect.” That doesn’t sound like a fair exchange, but demonstrating Your marvelous love and grace, we’re thankful You were willing to do that. You explained there was no other way for us to be redeemed from our sins except by the cross (Hebrews 9:22).  Now, when our heavenly Father sees us, those who have placed their faith in You, we can you hear Him saying, “Sins? What sins? I only see my Son Jesus’ righteousness all over you. My child, you’re perfect!”

Living in perfection by Your grace, Lord God, Amen!