Word of the day

Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."

-John 21:16 (NIV)

AFTER Judas betrayed Jesus, he was filled with remorse and went out and hanged himself (Matt. 27:3-5). Judas' greater betrayal, however, may have been that he apparently could not believe that Jesus would forgive him and that the Holy Spirit would help him forgive himself.

But Judas was not the only one who failed Jesus. After having promised he'd never desert Jesus, Peter denied him three times. When Peter heard the rooster crow, he remembered what Jesus had foretold and went out and wept.

Later, the risen Christ came to Peter and asked him three times, "Peter, do you love me?" After Peter answered yes each time, Jesus responded with an assignment. He gave Peter his own ministry: "Feed my lambs. Take care of my sheep." (See John 21:15-17.)

The memory of what we've done can be redeemed for good. The new covenant sealed with Jesus' blood is the promise of God's forgiveness. In that covenant, the Holy Spirit is able to bring us to rebirth, re-creation, renewal, and redemption. We can be used for God's purposes, no matter what we've done.

Mike Ripski (Tennessee, USA)

Prayer

Dear God, forgive us our past. Help us to spend our future serving you. Amen.

Thought for the Day

No matter what we have done, God can redeem us and use us.

Not even sure if anyone reads this "blog". I wouldn't so much call myself a "blogger" but I do like posting things that I find inspiring, helpful, and intersting to me. 

one love,

cb

Word of the day

Expectations

. . . the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen (Luke 19:37 ).
Few places are harder to live than in the gap between what we expect and what we get, that barren stretch that separates what we think we deserve and what our lives have actually delivered to us. We can barely tolerate being there and we’ll do anything to find a way out.
Sometimes that means we adjust our expectations. The pain of disappointment is alleviated by lowering our sights. But with every downward adjustment hope is diminished, and eventually we find we’ve stopped dreaming altogether.
Another strategy moves in the opposite direction. Sometimes the tension between what we expect and what we get pushes us to do whatever we need to do to secure our own happiness. We lash out at whoever or whatever gets in the way of what should have been.
Of course, we often ricochet back and forth between both of those responses: resignation or anger, passive acceptance or violent force. What we find most difficult is what the Psalmist urged. “Wait on the Lord” (Psalm 27:14 ).
Holy Week is bracketed by shouting crowds. On the front end of Holy Week we remember the day Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem. Luke tells us that the crowd that welcomed him that day “praised God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen” (19:37). Their shouts were grounded in past events, but those past events had shaped their expectations of what would soon be.
The miracle-working Jesus was their King. The very manner of his approach to Jerusalem, mounted on a colt, spoke to his identity as the one of whom Zechariah had prophesied (Zech. 9:9 ). These shouts carried the weight of expectations shaped by the hope of what a warrior king would do.
By the time we get to the end of the week those expectations are thoroughly shattered. This celebrated King has failed to deliver and now the crowds are shouting something different. “Hosanna” has morphed to “Crucify.” Holy Week is the story of what it means to walk with Jesus in the midst of unmet expectations.
We find ourselves in good company. This kind of disappointment isn’t unique to the godless or the wicked. Even Jesus’ closest followers struggled during those final days of his life. And they failed. Some of them failed big: Judas’ disappointment with Jesus, and then with himself, was so deep that he took his own life. Peter caved to his fear and denied Jesus. Eventually, by Friday afternoon, all of the disciples have scattered.
And as for us – plenty of us live every day with unmet expectations. Some of them are minor: a driver in front of you failed to use his turn signal; you assumed your spouse had made the bank deposit when you wrote the check, or the kitchen completely messed up your order when you happened to be on a tight schedule.
Of course, some of our expectations go to the core of who we are. A single adult approaches another birthday marking yet another decade without the dreamed of mate and the dreamed of children. The long-awaited retirement brings a deadening boredom and feelings of uselessness. The new purchase becomes a draining burden rather than the status symbol it was supposed to be. The promotion proves to be a wrong fit for your best skills. In short, things are not working out like you had hoped they would.
That gap between what we expected and what we actually experience is the place where faith wanes. During this week – or for that matter during any week – when the tension between what you hoped for and what you’ve received feel unbearable, hear the invitation of Jesus. Stay with him. Listen to his words. Watch what he’s doing. Don’t get swept up the noisy demands and expectations of the culture. God is at work. Such hardly seems to be the case, and you may not see it now. But God is at work.
To all who feel the ache of something that hasn’t worked out according to plan, welcome to Jerusalem.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, keep us close to you in the final days of this Lenten journey. Our expectations so easily become demands. We stop praying and start giving direction. Keep us attentive to what you are doing, especially when life unfolds in ways we didn’t expect or ask for. Teach us trust, even in the shadow of the cross. Amen.


Mark H. Crumpler
Pastor for Teaching and Spiritual Formation

Word of the day

Getting Practical

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31 ).
Several years ago Pastor John Piper wrote an article for his church newsletter titled “How to Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God.” The article, as is clear from the title, is a meditation on the words we’ve been reflecting on this week, and especially Paul’s admonition to the Corinthians to eat and drink to God’s glory.
The glory of God, like much of the religious vocabulary we hear and use, usually evokes a polite smile but fails to truly inform the mind or shape behavior. We sense that somehow it’s important, but we’re not really sure what to do with it when we’re seated at Turner Field instead of a church pew. For that matter, we’re not entirely clear on what to do with it in the church pew.
For those of you who are prone to ask “so what?” and have an appreciation for the practical side of the Christian faith, I’d like to borrow heavily from John Piper’s article and explore in detail what it means to drink orange juice to the glory of God. I’ll take the liberty of changing the scenario: how do you throw a dinner party to the glory of God?
For the sake of simplicity I’ll offer my answers in a list:

1. God is glorified in the way we purchase and prepare food . If your plans require you to shop for food, recognize that you are not merely a consumer. That the foods we purchase were grown in the earth and provided for us by the labor of others reminds us that we are not at the center of the universe. Everything around us involves someone else. If your plans involve cooking, realize that the act of preparing food for friends is a form of service and ministry. After his resurrection Jesus prepared a breakfast for his disciples after they had been out fishing all night. To see cooking as sacred is to cook to God’s glory.
    
2. When it is time to eat, receive the meal with thanksgiving . This is not simply a matter of saying a “blessing” or “grace” before everyone dives in to whatever has been set before them. A prayer may be spoken, but the glory of God doesn’t demand it. What this means is recognizing that the meal comes as a gift. The food, as mentioned above, comes to us as a gift. For the guests, the meal comes as gift from the hands of others who prepared it. What we’re confronted with at the table is the truth that all of life comes to us as a gift and God is glorified whenever we receive life’s gifts with a thankful heart.
    
3. God is glorified in the relationships that form around the table. Jesus gave his followers a new command – that they love one another as he had loved them. At the table you bring the love and presence of Christ to your friends. Jesus said loving God and neighbor topped the list of God’s commandments to us. What transpires around the table makes the meal an occasion to glorify God.

You can probably take it from here. Substitute the orange juice or the dinner party with anything else you’ll do today. Living for the glory of God isn’t hard and we need not complicate it with theological jargon or esoteric emotions.
How will you deal with clients to the glory of God? Surely truthfulness and basic respect are involved. Taking business ethics seriously will do it as well.
How will you take an exam to the glory of God? Maybe that’s about good preparation and your best effort.
How will you drive in Atlanta traffic to the glory of God? Relax, give others drivers a break by being courteous, and refrain from the angry explicative and profane gesture.
How will you parent to the glory of God? Teach your children to know and love God and see your interactions with your child as a mirror reflection of God’s own interactions with us – that includes tender love and tough discipline.
Your turn. What do you have planned today – and how will you do it to the glory of God?
Prayer:
In all I do today, O God, help me to do it well – to the praise of your glory and for the sake of your name. Let the most ordinary tasks and plans bear witness to who you and what you’re like. Amen.
Mark H. Crumpler
Pastor for Teaching and Spiritual Formation

Word of the day

Lean into Life

The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife and likewise the wife to her husband (1 Cor. 7:3 ).
Following Jesus and living a life of faith begins with saying ‘yes’. We say ‘yes’ to God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. We say ‘yes’ to what Jesus did for us on the cross. We say ‘yes’ to the grace that forgives sin. We say ‘yes’ to a new way of life in which self is no longer the center of the universe.
On more than one occasion Jesus posed direct questions that invited a simple answer: yes or no. After healing a blind man Jesus asked him “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (John 9:35). After washing the feet of his closest followers Jesus asked “Do you understand what I have done for you?” (John 13:12). The call to those first disciples was simple, “Come, follow me” (Mark 1:17). This called for more than a spoken answer. It called for a lived ‘yes’ or a lived ‘no.’
The Christian life is launched with ‘yes.’ Yes, we believe. Yes, we understand. Yes, we will go with you. Yes, yes, yes. Given that the Christian life is launched with yes, it is puzzling how quickly and easily we begin to live it with ‘no.’
True enough, Jesus proclaimed the arrival of God’s kingdom by calling for repentance, a word that implies turning away from something, a change of course. To say ‘yes’ to Jesus will inevitably mean saying ‘no’ to something else. Embracing God’s Kingdom means abandoning false kingdoms and rejecting lesser claims to our heart’s affections.
But something has gone seriously wrong when the ‘no’ begins to eclipse the glad ‘yes’ of following Jesus. Far too many people have abandoned the Jesus way because it came to be defined by ‘don’t’ and ‘can’t.’ Don’t do this. Don’t do that. The tradition in which I came to faith has too often been caricatured as nay-saying, particularly with regard to anything that seemed fun. You can’t dance, you can’t play cards, you can’t go to certain movies. I’m convinced that the Presbyterian Church is heavily populated with refugees from can’t and don’t.

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As we read the New Testament, and especially Paul’s letters, we discover that the Christian community has struggled with this tension from the beginning. In Corinth, the tension was disrupting marriages. The specific problem was two-fold. First, some of the Corinthian Christians thought that being spiritual meant that the physical intimacies and passions of marriage were not consistent with their new-found faith in Jesus. They were remaining married but depriving the spouse of marital intimacy (7:1-5 ). A second matter had to do with Christians who were married to non-Christians and seeking to divorce their unbelieving spouse (7:12-16 ).
1 Corinthians 7 is Paul’s corrective to both of these issues in the Corinthian church. His approach to both issues is rooted in the conviction that the Jesus way is more about ‘yes’ than ‘no.’ Paul encourages these Christians to stay married to their spouse, even if that husband or wife is not a follower of Jesus. Paul encourages married Christians to embrace marriage in its fullness, and that includes enjoying each others’ bodies.
Following Jesus means leaning into life. The Jesus way is not distant and aloof. In sending his son to this earth God refused to remain distant and aloof from us. God entered our world. Jesus lived a fully human life, working with his hands, obeying his parents, getting hungry and thirsty, experiencing friendship and rejection, suffering pain and dying a violent death.
To follow Jesus is to willingly encounter and engage the world in which you live. You will not embrace and affirm all that this world offers you – but a spiritual life is not lived by constantly saying ‘no.’ The life of faith is never defined by can’t and don’t
Lean into life today. Love your spouse. Play with your children. Call a friend you haven’t seen in a while. Do your best work. Give yourself to your studies. Enjoy the creation. God looked at all he had made and said “it is very good” (Genesis 1:31). How can we say less?
Prayer:
Gracious God, I want to lean into my life today – every part of it. Let my walk with you be an adventure in embracing all that you have placed in my life: my family, my work, my neighbors and co-workers. Grant discernment in saying ‘no’ and boldness in saying ‘yes’ as I follow you throughout this day. Amen.

Mark H. Crumpler
Pastor for Teaching and Spiritual Formation

Word of the day

Breath of Life

Now there are varieties of gifts but the same Spirit (1 Cor. 12:4 ).
But each one has his own gift from God, one has this gift, another has that (1 Cor. 7:7 ).
As a college student I did a summer internship in a church, working with the student ministry, doing middle school and high school camps. It was a great summer job, but God used it to show me I didn’t have what it takes to do student ministry. Too much “nerd” and not enough cool. But that’s another matter.
What I remember from that summer as I look at 1 Corinthians 12:4 and 7:7 is a staff meeting in which we discussed the hymn “Breathe on Me Breath of God.” We had just sung that hymn in worship the previous Sunday and the Senior Pastor didn’t like it. The refrain of the hymn says “Breathe on me, breathe on me, Holy Spirit breathe on me.” The pastor commented that the idea of someone breathing on you was offensive. He said it gave him the “heebie jeebies” – whatever that is. The phrase remains lodged in my memory. We all chuckled around the table. Yeah, what a goofy thing to sing in church.

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Last week Marnie and I were required to take a course in CPR. We had just been through an experience with one of our children where knowing CPR could have been the difference between life and death. A physician told us to learn CPR and actually signed us up for the course. Fear is powerful motivator and Doctors tend to have an authoritative presence in such matters. We gladly took the course.
In the small classroom an instructor pulled from a gym bag the plastic form of a torso and head. She then took a flat plastic bag and threaded it through the mouth and throat of the imaginary patient. As she proceeded to walk us through the ABCs of CPR, she eventually came to ‘B’ (breathing). She placed her mouth on the patient and blew air into the bag.
I’ve long known that CPR involved breathing air into another person’s lungs. But the visual impact of the inflated plastic bag and my own recent life experience hit me in a powerful way. Apart from breath there is no life.
“Breathe on Me Breath of God” may not be good poetry. It may not be a good hymn. But I’m not laughing at it anymore. It’s too true to be laughed at or dismissed. Apart from breath there is no life, either physically or spiritually. Unless God breathes on us we live our days gasping. Unless God breathes on us and in us, we won’t really live our days at all.

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The focus of our reflections this week will be Paul’s counsel to the Corinthians in matters concerning marriage and singleness. What I’m asking you to observe today is the easily missed connection between Paul’s discussion of the church and his discussion of marriage.
In chapter 12 Paul provides a lengthy treatment of the church as Christ’s body, functioning whole and healthy as the Spirit gives “gifts” to the members. These gifts differ, but they all come from the same Spirit. In chapter 7 Paul uses the same word, speaking of marriage and singleness as “gifts.”
In both Hebrew and Greek the word for “Spirit” can be rendered “breath” or “wind.” The breath of God gives life to the church. That same breath gives life to marriage and empowers one to live in singleness. Apart from breath there is no life – no life in the church; no life in the marriage; no life, period.
Ask God to breathe the breath of life into you today. Perhaps you need the breath of life at home. You may need it in your career and vocation. You may need it in your own soul. Jesus said that when we ask for the Holy Spirit we will not be denied (Luke 11:13 ). God delights to breathe on us. And whether we choose to sing about it or not, we can’t live any other way.
Prayer:
“Breathe on me, breath of God, Fill me with life anew, that I may love what Thou dost love, and do what Thou wouldst do.” (Breathe on Me Breath of God , 1878, Edwin Hatch).

Mark H. Crumpler
Pastor for Teaching and Spiritual Formation

Word of the day

1 John 2:15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Have you ever noticed that when people are in love, they tend to forget everything else? Everything becomes secondary — cars, houses, money — nothing matters — it is all secondary to love. Then, when they fall out of love, as in a divorce, all of a sudden those things mean everything! They argue about all the little meaningless things they ever owned together. Each wants it all for himself.
The same is true with the Lord. Before we know Him, all we really have are possessions. But when we come to know God — truly know Him — those things mean very little — we’re in love! We’re willing to give up everything. Those people who are most in love with God and filled with His love are the least possessive and the least materialistic.
If we have been wrapped up in our possessions, we’ve lost sight of our greatest treasure! All that stuff means nothing. Let go of it. Return to your first love. Lighten your heart and fall in love again with the love of God!

Word of the day

February 4 - Complacency

The word for today is complacency.

“‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth’” (Rev. 3:15-16).

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard” (Heb. 2:1-3).

“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones” (Prov. 14:30).

“And say to Archippus, ‘Take heed to the ministry which you have received in the Lord, that you may fulfill it’” (Col. 4:17).

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23).

“Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress may be evident to all. Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things; for as you do this you will insure salvation both for yourself and for those who hear you” (1 Tim. 4:15-16).

“Let us not allow slackness to spoil our work and let us keep the fires of the spirit burning, as we do our work for God” (Rom. 12:11 Phillips)

Prayer: Lord, I trust in Your unfailing love. I will rejoice because You have rescued me. I will sing to You because You have been so good to me.

Word of the day

January 14 - Surrender

The word for today is surrender.

“And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me’” (Luke 9:23).

“And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved” (Gen. 43:14).

Peace will be your portion when your surrender is complete.

Prayer: Lord, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the ROCK that is higher than I.

Word of the day

January 13 - Prayer

The word for today is prayer.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17).
“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us” (Eph. 3:20).
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jer. 33:3).
“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear” (Isa. 65:24).
The key to close communion is clear communication.
Prayer: Lord, thank You that You are near to all who call upon You in truth. You fulfill the desires of those who fear You.


January 12 - The Word

The word for today is the word.

“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty” (Jer. 15:16).

“And for this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received from us the word of God’s message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thess. 2:13).

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word. … I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Ps. 119:9, 11).

The Word: KNOW it in your head, STOW it in your heart, SHOW it in your life, SOW it in the world.

Prayer: Lord, I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in Your word.


January 11 - A Pearl for Today (Purity)

“Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:18-20).

PURITY

When we stand before the altar and exchange our single status for that of marriage, we make a lifetime vow of commitment, a covenant of fidelity and separation unto our mate.

At the office, at parties, or in other situations, do you “feel” married? Does your deportment with a person of the opposite sex say, “married,” in word and deed?

Charles Swindoll says that when he travels and eats alone, he props a small picture of his family on the restaurant table. His actions say, “married, family man,” just as much as driving down the freeway with an infant strapped in a car seat.

In your social interactions and business contacts, do you maintain a level of propriety and integrity? Conducting yourself in this manner is like having an invisible sign around your neck stating: “Married … Not for Sale … No Hunting, Fishing, or Trespassing Allowed.”

When Don and I are on the beach, and a beautiful woman wearing only a patch of material here and there walks by, I tell him, “You keep your eyes on that book, Buster!” There is no need to test his commitment unnecessarily, and this way I help him to “feel” married.

If you are single, are you respectful and do you conduct yourself with purity in obedience to Christ and your commitment to Him? Are you loyal to your relationship with Him?

No matter our status, single or married, we are called to purity, whether we “feel” like it or not.

Forbidden fruit is the cause of many a bad jam.

Word of the day

So my Dad started sending these out this year every morning and I thought I would share with them with the blog world. The Word of the day is a great way to start the day with a simple devotional that provides pure scripture to encourage us in our walk with Christ.  I hope you will take just a minute or so to reflect before we start our busy days. 


God bless,


-cb

January 8 - Temptation

The word for today is temptation.

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Gen. 3:6).

“But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3).

“In order that no advantage be taken of us by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Cor. 2:11).

Satan is continually studying our game films for tendencies, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities, so when the opportune time comes he will be successful.

“No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).

Prayer: Lord, thank You that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

January 7 - Compassion

The word for today is compassion.

“‘But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, HE FELT COMPASSION, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you”’” (Luke 10:33-35 emphasis mine).

“And seeing the multitudes, HE FELT COMPASSION for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest’” (Matt. 9:36-38 emphasis mine).

Compassion is the fruit of a deep hurt and a longing to help others. It is the fruit of a holy walk. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Prayer: Father, fill me with the compassion that caused Jesus to empty Himself, taking the form of a servant, and humbling Himself to the point of death on the cross for me.

January 6 - Growth

The word for today is growth.

“Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord” (1 Pet. 2:2-3).

“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).

Growth takes place when STUDY, SERVICE, and SACRIFICE are a part of our lives.

Prayer: Lord, I claim Your promise to the psalmist, “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”

May we all "GROW" closer to Christ and rely on him for our decision making by implementing the three S's.

January 5 - Suffering  

The word for today is suffering.

“And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:10).

“Therefore, let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right” (1 Pet. 4:19).

Remember the 3 G’s:

1. Grace: His grace will get you through it. This too shall pass.

2. Growth: Right response leads to greater Christlikeness.

3. Glory: Comes to God through victory.

Prayer: Lord, thank You that the suffering of this present time cannot be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

January 4 - A Pearl for Today (Perseverance)

“Therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure” (2 Thess. 1:4).

PERSEVERANCE

When I think of perseverance in the midst of adversity I remember my dad. Death claimed his beautiful 31-year-old wife, Mabel. Grief-stricken, but with young children, he set out to work at any job he could find. He farmed the family homestead, raised cattle, sold groceries from a truck, worked at a service station and carried mail. He owned school buses and drove one himself. When I was a young child, our home even tragically burned to the ground.

My dad overcame many obstacles and heartaches. He willingly did whatever was necessary to take care of his family. He died on May 12, 1962, a Christian community leader respected by his peers and family.

I have tried to emulate my dad in his work ethic and his fierce determination to keep his household together under difficult and painful circumstances.

The apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:8-9: “we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

When they were small, our children liked to play with Weebles. The advertising slogan for these roly-poly plastic toys ran something like this: “Weebles wobble but they don’t fall down!” The toys might bobble, sway, spin, and even bounce, but they would always land right side up.

This is what the apostle Paul and my dad have demonstrated to me. They endured much difficulty, but they persevered. They landed right side up.

Are you wobbling today? Tempted to give up and not persevere? Ask God for fresh strength. You never know how your legacy of persevering might help someone who is watching.

The size of a man is measured by what it takes to stop him.

January 3 - Fruitfulness

The word for today is fruitfulness.

“You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. … By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (John 15:16, 8).

Four Steps to a Bumper Crop:

1. Brokenness

2. Surrender

3. Obedience

4. Patience

Prayer: Lord, You are the vine and I am a branch. I am abiding in You and asking You to be glorified in me with much fruit.

January 2 - Commitment   

The word for today is commitment.

“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:24-27).

Rules for the Road:

1. Run to Win

2. Discipline Produces Reward

3. Find the Goal and Hit the Mark

4. Extra Effort Produces Excellence

Prayer: Because the sovereign Lord helps me, I shall not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know I shall not be put to shame.

January 1 - Endurance   

The word for today is endurance.

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12:1-2).

Since they did it, so can we. Keep hanging in there. You’ll make it.

Prayer: Lord, I ask for three gifts: grit, guts, and gumption, so that I might finish with joy the race set before me.