We Are Valuable

We Are Valuable

by Max Lucado

Value is now measured by two criteria: appearance and performance.  Where does that leave the ugly or uneducated?  Where hope does that offer the unborn child? The aged?  The handicapped? Not much at all. We become nameless numbers on mislaid lists.

This is man’s value system.  But it is not God’s.  His plan is much brighter.  In God’s book man is heading somewhere.  He has an amazing destiny.

We’re being prepared to walk down the church aisle and become the bride of Jesus. We’re going to live with him.  Share the throne with him. We count.  We’re valuable.

Jesus’ love does not depend on what we do for him. If there was anything that Jesus wanted everyone to understand it was this: A person is worth something simply because he is a person. That’s why Jesus treated people the way he did.

You have value simply because you are!

You are His.

The Unraveling of a Legacy

The Unraveling of a Legacy
LYSA TERKEURST

“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.” 1 Kings 11:4 (NIV)

I don’t think anyone wakes up and says, “I’m going to make a total mess of my life today. I plan to purposefully ignore all the wisdom God has ever given me, sin like crazy, and then ruin all I hold dear.”

No. I think the unraveling of a life starts slowly. Much like what happened to one of my favorite sweaters. It was the kind of sweater that snagged easily if I wasn’t careful. For the longest time, I was mindful of the delicate nature of this sweater, protecting it so I could make it last and enjoy wearing it time and again.

But one day I got in a hurry and pulled a huge snag in it. And instead of taking the time to properly repair it, I snipped the loose threads and hoped for the best. That decision started an unraveling process that ended the life of my beautiful sweater.

It’s a process that makes me stop and think about the life of King Solomon — a king who forgot to carefully guard his heart (Proverbs 4:23) and ended up making choices that led to the unraveling of his legacy.

Solomon started out well. He was a king who sought the Lord for wisdom. He built the temple and prayerfully dedicated it to the Lord.

But Solomon had an area of sin that became a snagging point for him in his relationship with the Lord.

Pay close attention to the word “however” in this verse: 1 Kings 11:1 tells us, “King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter — Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.”

This was a big issue because God had warned His people not to intermarry with those who didn’t worship the God of Israel. He knew their hearts would be led astray. (Exodus 34:12-16) You cannot enter into a love relationship with someone without that person affecting not only your mind and body but also your soul.

Sadly, this king who prayed during the temple dedication that the Lord would turn the hearts of the people of Israel toward Him (1 Kings 8:58) later clung to his forbidden wives and ended up with his own heart being turned away from the Lord.

“As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been” (1 Kings 11:4).

I find it so interesting that this Scripture verse references Solomon’s father David. David was also a man whose heart had been led astray by his sinful desire for a woman. His snagging point was not so different from his son’s — leading David to commit sin upon sin upon sin. (2 Samuel 11) But instead of being labeled a man who did evil in the sight of the Lord as Solomon was (1 Kings 11:6), David was called a man after God's own heart. (Acts 13:22)

Why?

Because David’s response to his sin was quite different from Solomon’s response.

David owned his sin. He chose to repair the breach in his relationship with God using the thread of repentance — confessing his sins and placing his affection and his devotion firmly on the Lord once again. (Psalm 51)

Solomon continued in his sin. And his refusal to repent and realign his desires with the Lord's desires resulted in God declaring He would tear the kingdom away from Solomon during the rule of his son. Solomon’s legacy would not be all that God had originally designed and desired. (1 Kings 11:9-12)

Oh, sweet friends. God’s reminders to us in today’s passage should not be taken lightly. God isn't after our earthly accomplishments. And He doesn't want us going through the motions of devotion. He's after our hearts. God wants to be our soul's sole desire. And the minute we turn our hearts away from God is the minute our intimacy with Him and our legacy with others begins to unravel.

Let’s ask the Lord to reveal anything that holds our attention and affection more than Him. And then let’s take the time to repair those seemingly small snags — the ones that can have devastating consequences — by going to God in repentance. An act of humility that beautifully re-ties the knot between our heart and His.

Father God, You know the worthless idols I often cling to. Please forgive me, Lord. Help me guard my heart as I choose to release my grip on lesser things. I want to be found clinging wholeheartedly to You alone. You, Lord, are my soul's greatest delight. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Jonah 2:8, “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God's love for them.” (NIV)

Do What It Says

Do What It Says
by Matt Brown

The Jesus Bible explains,

“The book of James is filled with practical commands for authentic Christian living. In his letter, James, the brother of Jesus, instructed Christians to control their tongues, be slow to anger and fight selfish ambition. But James was not interested in simply sharing a list of things Christians should not do — he also included a number of positive commands for believers.

Just as Jesus spent much of his ministry among those neglected by society, followers of Jesus are commanded to care for and show concern for people who are orphans and widows, the underprivileged, and for sinning brothers and sisters. James placed a specific emphasis on believers emulating the everyday ministry of Jesus within their own lives by showing compassion toward the broken-hearted and poor and by avoiding sin.

 The disciples of Jesus should not merely listen to the words of Jesus; they should actively seek opportunities to engage the world with his life-changing message. Just as with Jesus, a believer’s relationships with others—be it family, friends, co-workers or a person who is begging on the street—should be defined by love, mercy, patience and grace.”

There’s no excuse for believers—who have God’s Word—not to carry out God’s commands. The Bible is not something we should read or listen to and then go on our way as if nothing applies to how we should be living and acting. The Bible is God’s story for us, it contains amazing truth, and it helps us know how to live our earthly lives. If we only read God’s Word and don’t live it out, we are truly missing out on God’s best for us. 

"Is there an area of your life that doesn't line up with what the Bible says, and you know it? Don't keep looking for another solution, when you know what you need to do. Repent, turn from ways you know are wrong, and obey what God has spoken to you through His Word. This is the real power of the Word of God, when we allow it to transform the way we think, speak, act and live. Continue in the Word. Don't forget what you've heard. Do it. You will be blessed in ways you cannot begin to imagine.”

Why Paul Wasn't a Zombie

Why Paul Wasn't a Zombie
by John UpChurch

“We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28-29 

Worn out. Exhausted. Please oh please oh please be Friday. Those words probably describe many of our weeks—often by Monday afternoon. The surge of the weekday tide sucks us under and spins us around and strips away our energy by making us swim to the surface over and over again. Gasp. Bills. Gasp. Long meeting. Gasp. Kids biting each other.

What more can we give than that? What else can God expect from us than just trying to keep from drowning in the mess of life?

Paul says everything and more. Yep, you read that right. We’re supposed to slap down every last ounce of ourselves to the cause of Christ. We’re supposed to surrender every modicum of ourselves to the purpose of “proclaiming Him” with our joy-filled words and our peace-in-the-midst-of-this-hurricane-called-life actions.

Everything. Every single bit. For Him.

Feeling tired yet? I hope you don’t. You see, there’s something in here that we too often overlook. It does take energy—loads of it—to live a life of surrender. We wouldn’t expect anything less from being a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1). That means using all that we are to make all that He is known to all. But even with all those alls, you won’t be using up your energy.

Look again at what Paul says here: “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” He doesn’t say, “I did it all myself until I burned out and crashed into the dirt and hated my life and decided it was just too hard to do anything and wanted to move to Alaska forever and hide in a cave.” Instead, he tells us that the source of his oomph is Christ.

Christ didn’t save us so that we could barely keep going, dragging our way like zombies down the road of life. Instead, we’re operating with power—His. He jumpstarted our lives with a spirit of power (2 Timothy 1:7), cranking up the juice through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). After all, like Paul, we’re wrestling with the tasks God’s called us to do. We aren’t supposed to do this by tapping into our own reserves. God takes these fragile clay pots that we are and supplies His power so that He gets the glory (2 Corinthians 4:7). He adds the zing, and His zing is potent.

Intersecting Faith & Life: When you try to make it all work on your own guts and grit, you’ll eventually drain down and sputter out. Instead, take Him up on His “by my Spirit” (Zechariah 4:6) thing—that is, not your own strength. That doesn’t mean you’ll never get tired or weary. You will. But you can be sure that He specializes in renewing the worn out and exhausted (Isaiah 40:30-31).

A Prayer for the Work Day Ahead

A Prayer for the Work Day Ahead
By Renee Davis

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. - Colossians 3:23-24

Things (and people!) would be so much easier to deal with if we could stay home every day. Close the drapes, lock the doors, and shut out the rest of the world.

You’re nodding your head, aren’t you?

But most of us need to pay off our mortgages and eat something besides Ramen. That means we’ve got to work. And that means there’s a good chance we’re going to be hit by some things during the day that will push us to our limits, make us feel stressed, hopeless, and even angry.

Thankfully, we followers of Christ have help, to prepare us for and guide us through our workday woes, in the form of God’s Word.

Setting aside time to spend in Scripture each morning not only deepens our understanding of God and our relationship with Him but also sets the tone for the rest of our day. When we take time to put Him first we’re exhibiting our trust in Him to walk with us throughout the day.

I once heard a story about a guy who’d taken a job many of us would refer to as a “last resort.” One that definitely wasn’t part of his plan for his future—a menial job. Though this man didn’t understand why God would put him in such a place, he committed to do his very best no matter what.

This job that had at one time made no sense would, in fact, be the origin of what would become a worldwide ministry. God had placed him in this position so he could meet other Christians who would help him achieve a dream he could never have imagined. He also met his future wife at this very same job.

Maybe your current job is a bit of nightmare. But, what if God has positioned you there for a reason—as part of a better plan? What if you just need to be patient and make the best of it?

Just in case your dream takes a while longer to materialize, keep Colossians 3:23-24 handy, and pray this prayer today:

Father, thank you for all the ways you’ve blessed me, specifically with this job that pays my bills and puts food on my table. Thank you that ALL work has significance because work is good. Help me bring you glory today, through my actions, my words, through the good work I do to bring order to my little corner of the world. Help me view my work as a blessing and not a curse. Give me grace and strength for the hardest aspects of my job. In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.