Intentional Faith

Under Jewish law, a newborn is officially given a name on the 8th day (Luke 2:21). If the child is male, he has to be circumcised (Leviticus 12:3).

Jesus’ mother, Mary, was purified as required by the Law (Luke 2:22). A new mother of a son was considered unclean for 7 days and had to wait for another 33 days before she could enter the temple. The Law required a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. The poor could substitute a dove or young pigeon for the lamb (Leviticus 12:2-8). Mary offered the sacrifice of the poor (Luke 2:24). The Messiah was born a poor man’s son.

The Law also required that Joseph and Mary dedicate Jesus to the Lord in the temple because Jesus was their firstborn son (Exodus 13:2; Luke 2:22-23).

For Joseph and Mary, the past 11 months had been the most amazing time of their lives. Angels visited them. They experienced the miraculous birth of Jesus. Yet despite all these amazing and miraculous events, we see them living in humble and complete obedience to the Law. Luke highlights their obedience to God’s commands in Luke 2:22-24,39.

What’s important in your life is not the extraordinary experiences you may have. Joseph and Mary remind us that the key component of the life of the believer in Jesus is obedience to God’s Word.

Spring has brought it’s rain but the resurrection is near.  Honor our Lord today in Jackson County by obeying Him to the best of your abilities.

Michael

Dear Lord,

When your people are unleashed for ministry, they become a powerful force to advance your kingdom. Yet, sadly, many of your people don’t realize how you want to use them in the church and in the world.

Help your people, Lord—all your people—to realize who they are as your ministers. May your body – represented in local churches as well as in your church throughout the world – be fully functional, one in which all members are doing their part.

Help me, Lord, to be faithful in using the gifts and talents you have given me for the sake of your body. May all that I do be for your honor and glory. Amen.

May God use you mightily.  Michael

Long-term commitment whether in marriage, religious life or in other forms, is harder these days because of change. The loved one changes, and we change ourselves with time; so our relationships change.

We cannot live our whole lives at concert pitch. But when the tune changes, it need not be the end of the concert. It often is. In some countries half the marriages end in divorce. What is there in us that can survive the changes of time, and the up-and-down of living relationships?

As we look back at the promises kept, we see our commitment is at once richer and more painful than when we started. Faithfulness is a bit of a mystery and a marvel; it has a value in itself. Faithful love builds up the one to whom we are faithful, expresses our hope in them. It is a grace, a gift: not so much what we do for God as what he does for us.

In a world ravaged by greed, the following prayer is worth reciting to our Lord.

Displaying the treasures of Your work,
Jesus, You invited me to follow You,
To sell my goods, to give to the poor,
And to completely submit Myself to You.
Desires for wealth leads to greed,
Satisfaction never being reached.
He who seeks no earthly possessions
Is free of avarice and greed.
Jesus, teach my weak human nature,
To resist unnecessary possessions.
May I subdue all greedy tendencies!

I ask this in your name and for your kingdom.  Amen.

The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever. -Isaiah 40:8 (NRSV)

I love the following insight from a Christian in Alabama to begin my week.

I know that spring is coming because the daffodils are blooming outside my kitchen window on this winter morning. Daffodils are a sure harbinger of spring. The daffodil bulbs that I planted came from my Grandmother Darby’s garden. She has been gone nearly 30 years, but her flowers return and bloom each year, reminding me of her.

The daffodils fade, but they return. Jesus died, but he arose. Easter is our celebration that Christ is alive and that God’s love and power are our everlasting shelter. The psalmist calls us to take delight in the Lord and to commit everything we have and do to God. If we trust and obey God’s will, we will find God always there for us. We can count on God to bring us "the desires of [our] heart."

Just as the daffodils bloom each spring, God stays with us – but never withering, never fading. How wonderful that the Lord can use such a small thing as a flower to remind us of the great cycle of eternal love!

Dear God, thank you for your love in sending your son. Help us to do your will as Jesus did – knowing that you are always with us, even when we fail. Amen.

Watch for a daffodil today.  Michael

Gracious God, for many people today, the economic crisis has sent us into the darkest valley. We wake up in the middle of the night with worries that won’t be calmed. Each day brings new headlines that fuel our fears.

Help us, dear Lord, to know that you are with us even in scary times. May we trust you so that we are not afraid. May we sense your protection and feel your comfort.

Today I want to pray specifically for people who have lost their jobs or realize that they may soon do so; or for those who have seen their investments plummet in value and worry about their future or for others who are experiencing the sorry impact of the economic downturn.

Dear Lord, help them in tangible ways. But even more than this, I ask that you make your presence known to them. May they feel the peace that surpasses understanding, even today. Amen.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.    Romans 12:2

Dear Lord, I confess that I feel the lure of this world in so many ways. Even though I seek to live for you and think your thoughts, in so many ways I am conformed to this world. Forgive me, Lord.

Today I hear your call not to “copy the behavior and customs of this world.” You are instructing me to reject the ways of this world that are contrary to your ways. If I’m to do this, Lord, I need to see myself and my world as you see me. I need new clarity of vision to see through the lies and pretenses of my culture. I need especially to see where I have bought into these without even knowing it. So help me, Lord, to see with your eyes, so that I might say “No” to the fallen ways of this world.

At the same time, I ask you to keep me from the temptation of withdrawing from this world and its people. May I continue to live in this world for you and your purposes. Use me, Lord, as a channel of your grace, truth, and love wherever I may be. Amen.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. [Romans 12:1]

 

Gracious God,

Today I thank you for my body. I must confess that I take for granted the ways you have blessed me in my body, focusing instead on its limitations, pains, and failures. Yet my body is a gift of inestimable value. So I give you thanks for this physical center of my life.

Lord, may I recognize that my body finds its true and whole purpose when it is given to you. May I offer my body to you as a living sacrifice, devoting my whole self to you and your purposes. As I do, may I abstain from all that dishonors, weakens, or distresses my body. May I care for my flesh so that it might be fit for your service. And then, may I give my body to you each day, serving you with all that I am in every situation. Use me, Lord, for your kingdom’s purpose. Amen.

At certain times in our life, all of us will have feelings of inadequacy. Perhaps your job requires a new skill that seems beyond your ability; maybe a relationship is not progressing the way you had hoped; or it could be that you have been asked to serve in a ministry for which you lack experience. These situations are never comfortable, but they may not be entirely negative. In fact, feeling that you don’t have what it takes can actually be a blessing rather than a barrier in your life.

A sense of inadequacy is oftentimes a roadblock that prevents us from experiencing God’s best. It can lead to fear of failure or the feeling that we will not measure up to expectations of family, employers, church associates, or friends.

Sometimes, when we regard ourselves as unqualified for certain relationships or tasks, we try to rationalize avoiding responsibilities and healthy risks. For example, if people lack training or a certain spiritual gift, they might feel justified in declining opportunities like teaching Sunday school or taking a mission trip. But that is not a good excuse; when God calls us to an assignment, none of us really should feel adequate in and of ourselves to accomplish it.

By turning our backs on a task God assigns, we suffer the loss of a blessing He intended.

Christians should ask, How can I experience God’s best in my life when I feel unqualified and unworthy of His blessing?

The key is found in 2 Corinthians 3:5: “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. . . .” This confession of Paul’s own shortcomings comes just a few verses after he described believers as “a fragrance of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) The people who observe us can sense “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and self-control” radiating from our lives. (Galatians 5:22-23) Even though unbelievers may dislike aspects of our behavior or beliefs, something about God’s followers is attractive, like a flora scent—namely, Jesus Christ living His life in and through us.

Don’t let your insecurities limit you today. Trust in the influence of God’s Spirit in your life. He will make you a blessing in every avenue of your life. He will not make you an engineer instantly but he will empower you to become one. He will not force a relationship to be that chosen relationship but he will guide the right one to you. So lighten up today and just do your best and trust the rest to God.

I will be home tomorrow. Michael

Gracious and merciful God, how I thank you that I do not have to earn your favor. You have already given this to me in greater measure than I can comprehend. Thank you!

I must confess, however, that there are times I slip back into a quid pro quo way of thinking. I do things, right things, in order to get some reward from you. My theology tells me how foolish this is. But my feelings sometimes overwhelm my thinking. Forgive me, Lord, when I negate your grace by trying to earn it. By your Spirit, help me to live in the joyous freedom of your grace, offering my sacrifice in response to your far greater sacrifice given to me in Christ.

All praise be to you, gracious and merciful God, for offering yourself to me in love. Amen.

Enjoy His love today.  Michael