Saturday, June 03, 2006

June 03

Body Slams

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.


Psalm 55:22 (NKJV)



Yesterday, my eight-year old son surprised me. He asked me to sumo wrestle. Since we recently had a guest from Japan, I thought that’s where he heard the term. In any event, I wanted to spend time with my boy, so it was an easy decision, but what we ended up doing wasn’t exactly sumo. It was more like jump on Daddy’s back and drive him to the ground!

We faced each other on a small gymnastics mat, maneuvering left and right before lunging, jumping and riding the other person to the ground. Sometimes I was on top scoring the pin, but more often than not, he would dodge and duck and get the best of me. What we both seemed to enjoy was throwing the other person off our back and turning the situation to our advantage.

I thought of this as I lay exhausted from the twenty something matches we did, and it reminded me of this great verse. The Hebrew word shalah can be used for a wrestler throwing an opponent to the ground and so the psalmist is advising us to find relief from the everyday weights of the world by placing them on the Lord.

It’s a good reminder, God can handle anything. Any burden. Any situation. Any of our struggles. God invites us: “Dump it on Me!”


Lord, You know my concerns, You understand the things that get me down. I throw them onto You. Free me, Lord to live in peace, to live for You. Amen.

Friday, June 02, 2006

June 02

A Very Small Part of a Very Big Thing

I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.

1 Corinthians 3:5 (NLT)



This verse means more to me now than ever. Yes, indeed. I’ve caught Paul’s vision, and it excites me!

It all started when my son took Japanese and decided he wanted to join the school trip to Japan this summer. There was one catch—as part of an exchange agreement, we would host a Japanese student in our home alao. Well that visit has come and gone, and Tomoe (pronounced Tah-moy) was a jewel: so sweet, so nice, she became like family. In fact, she did become family for when she accepted Christ, she became a sister in Christ!

This was the lesson I caught during that visit: God uses His Body of believers in small ways to do big things. The many small events added up:
- Drew meets a Japanese girl at the airport and brings her home.
- I give her a bilingual Bible and show her some verses.
- Mike and Hilda pray for her salvation.
- The family takes her to church.
- Friends smile, introduce themselves and welcome her to our worship time.
- Pastor John preaches a sermon from John 3 while Tomoe follows in her Japanese Bible.
- Later, several of us do puzzles, go shopping, and see the sights.
- We enjoy life together.
- My wife pulls Tomoe aside and asks her about the cross she now wears.

My wife asks, “Do you believe? Have you trusted Christ as your Savior?”

“Yes!” Tomoe beams.

How thankful I am that God allowed me to be a very small part of a very big thing—the entry of a new believer into our family of believers … the Kingdom of God … the increase of God.


Father, thank You so much for the Body of Christ and for allowing me to be a part of it. Lord, help us to grow, to unite and to use our gifts for Your glory. Amen.

Thursday, June 01, 2006

June 01

Rejoice—It’s All for Good

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.


James 1:2-4 (NLT)

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us,….

Romans 5:3-4a (NLT)

Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT)


Do we really understand what Paul told us? He said, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT).

If we can truly comprehend this verse then rejoicing will come naturally. Our attitudes will brighten, and, for a change, people may just want to be around us.

If we have come to love God, by now, we ought to believe Him wholeheartedly—through good times and through what we might call bad. Isn’t this the heart and soul of faith—the confidence that what God said He would do, He will do?

If we believe this, it will show. The love of God, you see, overflows … and it’s contagious.


Father, I love You and I know You love me. Thank You so much for having my best interests at heart. I know I can trust You. Thank You for saving me, for challenging me, and for making me more like Christ. You really do know what’s best. Amen.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

May 31

Lessons from Anne

… all have sinned, all fall short …


Romans 3:23 (NLT)

The human heart is most desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I know!

Jeremiah 17:9-10a (NLT)

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord.

Isaiah 55:8 (NKJV)


I recently traveled to Ashland, Oregon to view the gripping play, The Diary of Anne Frank. Wendy Kesselman’s adaptation of Goodrich and Hackett’s earlier play is truly touching. Those familiar with the play know Anne, a Jewish teen, has hidden with her family and others in a storeroom above her father’s business—and they do so for over a year. She has a diary she keeps, and she records the intimate details of their long hibernation together. In spite of the Nazi’s determination to eliminate every Jew they could lay their hands on—and they managed to kill six million of them—Anne writes near the end of her journal that she still believes in the ultimate goodness of man. In a matter of days they are captured, and in spite of the rapid Ally advance across Europe, all would die in Nazi prisons except for Anne’s father, Otto.

I hate to disagree with a fifteen-year old victim of such cruel hatred, but I guess that’s the point. Men or women in their natural fallen state … are not good. Only God is good. At least, that's what Jesus taught. When the Rich Young Ruler approached Jesus and called him Good Teacher, Jesus replied, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God” (Matthew 19:17).

If we are good, it is only because God is good and through the saving grace of Jesus Christ, God indwells those who believe—who trust in His Son.

The play serves a great purpose: it reminds us all: we live in a dark world. What we Christians forget is, we hold the torches! This means we have a great responsibility, and our lives of goodness and grace serve to show the way.

Anne Frank reminds us of something else as well: many have died because of who they were. But how many of us live, truly live, because of who we are?


Lord, the world would snuff out these lights. Keep them lit and help us shine for Your glory! Amen.

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

May 30

What Love Sounds Like

I appointed you to go and produce fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. I command you to love each other.


John 15:16-17 (NLT)



Here’s an eye-opener: my prayers are not for me. Really. My prayers are designed to further God’s kingdom.

John makes it plain: the purpose of prayer is to produce fruit. Sometimes that means praying for the sick, sometimes it means praying through someone’s problem, and sometimes it’s praying for the lost. One thing's for sure; my prayers should always be about loving God and loving others. Is this news to you? Do you find it hard to believe?

Tell me if you think I'm wrong, but too often our first subject in prayer is … us! That’s natural for new believers and it’s expected we’ll seek God’s help in our daily life, but the breakdown comes when we pray according to our will and not the Father’s will (1 John 5:14).

James identified the central problem (James 4:2-3). First, we don’t pray (we just don’t ask God for much of anything!), then, when we do pray, we pray for our own pleasure or we pray as a last resort asking for God to rescue us. Let's face it: too many times our motives are wrong.

I challenge you to join me. I am determined to commit myself anew to pray with the only motive God recognizes: love. I will love God and seek His will by loving others and praying for them. This prayer bears fruit. This is why I am here, and this is what love sounds like.

So, who can you love today … through prayer?


Father, show me others' needs so I can pray for them. Produce a great harvest through me—fruit that will last! Amen.

Monday, May 29, 2006

May 29

An Inspiring Life


… teach what is in accordance with sound doctrine … make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.


Titus 2:1,10 (NIV)


A Christian’s life is the world’s Bible.

Dwight Moody


A mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. But the great teacher inspires.

William Arthur Ward


Mother Teresa gave us an example; Billy Graham proclaimed and lived the Good News; but Jesus Christ inspires us like no other.

Whether we put much thought into it or not, our lives are living testimonies with lessons to be learned and shared.

We are all teachers in a sense then, and if we want to be effective teaching tools in the Master Teacher’s hands then truth must be the central fixture of our lives. Second, our lives must be attractive and the best and surest way to do this is to let Christ rule our lives.

Do you want to be an inspiration? Do you want to encourage and motivate others as He did? He, the Great Teacher and Savior of the world is the One who draws all people (John 12:32). An inspiring life needs the Inspiring Lord.


Lord God, teach me, inspire me, and somehow fill and use this life to inspire those around me. Amen.
May 28

A Lesson from the Sun

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart;….


Proverbs 3:5a (KJV)

… he who is the Gory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!

1 Samuel 15:29 (NLT)


Last night my wife pointed to our living room window, “Look, what a gorgeous sunset!”

The colors were brilliant, the light so bright, and though the colors change, it is a scene we enjoy over and over. Then this morning, I got up early as usual and there was the sun breaking over the horizon as always. This time the sky was a clear and dazzling silver. The day felt new and alive and I rejoiced. These are gifts from God.

I reflect on the prophet Jeremiah’s words and wonder if he penned them while observing the consistent cycles of sun and nature:

“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23 NAS).

The truth of all this is the Lord is faithful and we can trust Him. Let there be no doubt, He watches over us every day and blesses us with good things.

Remember that the next time you see the sunrise.

Heavenly Father, thank You for being so consistent. Thank You for Your gifts of life! Amen.

Sunday, May 28, 2006

May 27

Big Boys … Do Cry?

Then Jesus wept.


John 11:35 (NLT)


The children raced around the far side of the suburban ranch house—its many bricks a red blur as they giggled and shrieked. Their small feet pounded the lush, green of the huge summer lawn as their pursuers closed on them. They needed a safe spot … and fast! As the old wooden tool shed popped into view, the five kids hustled with a burst of speed. Their happy faces glistened with perspiration as they looked over their shoulders one last time. More squeals. Their hearts pounded as they bolted single file up the short plank ramp, squeezed into the dark space, and slammed the door shut. It latched.

“Ahhhhhhhh, my thumb, my thumb!” The hurt in the boy’s hushed voice pierced the dark silencing the kids inside. By now their pursuers had stormed the plank and crowded the door.

“Let us out! Let us out! He’s hurt! He’s hurt!” a girl begged.

The door opened freeing the boy’s hand and flooding the shed with bright July sunshine. The young boy held out his right thumb—now a throbbing, purple extension.

“Wow, that’s gotta hurt.”

After a series of oos and ahs, the entire troop marched the boy to his mom sitting out front, one of many women relaxing in lawn chairs, enjoying a good chat. They huddled all around as she inspected the damage.

As his mother comforted him, another woman commented, “Why look, he’s not even crying. What a big boy he is!”

It was a day he never forgot. It was the day he learned that big boys don’t cry, and it stunted his growth.

You see, I was that boy, and I believed her insinuation.

It took years to unlearn, but reading this verse proved it to me. Look at Jesus Christ, the God-man, the one perfect human being. He cried. He was moved deep within. He connected with people and their pain. He had emotions just like us and the tears flowed.

As I read more about Jesus, the more I want to be like Him, and so should you. It’s time we got real with ourselves and each other. It’s time to open our hearts and share each other's pain. Do you feel a good cry coming? Let it come. Jesus did.


Father, Jesus was perfect, and yet, He cried. Teach me through His tears. Teach me through mine … and draw me close… to You … to others. Amen.