FREEDOM

... and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  -- 2 Corinthians 3:17

Jesus said, "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free," (John 8:32). He also said, "I am the truth, (John 14:6).

Bottom line: Where Jesus is, freedom is. When we walk with Christ, we live in freedom.

The opposite is also true: when we turn and walk away - when we walk alone; when we walk in our own power and wisdom - we inevitably live in bondage. We may or may not be aware of the chains that bind. But that does not make them any less real.

But the good news is better than the bad. (And despite what we see on TV and the internet, the Good News ALWAYS overpowers and outshines the bad!)

And the good news is:

God is a God of freedom!

Our freedom was purchased through Christ's sacrifice. And we experience his freedom when we live in the light of his presence.

God, you are my freedom.

For now...
D

FRAGRANCE...

For we are the aroma of Christ...
-- 2 Corinthians 2:15

Tonight is one of those perfect evenings. Perfect temperature. Perfect sunset. A walk around a perfectly still lake. And now, a perfectly clear sky dotted with stars.

There is a fragrance to a perfect evening like this. It is the smell of freshness on a crisp spring evening. You know the smell. It is mountain air in the fall, or a midnight ocean breeze. It is not always the same, but it is unmistakably living, fresh and crisp. And it lingers...

It cannot be duplicated artificially, though the attempt is made in everything from laundry detergent to body lotion. It is a fragrance that is more experienced than simply noticed through our sense of smell.

There is a fragrance to our lives. 

When we have been with Christ, it is an aroma of freshness, crispness and life. And it lingers...

It cannot be artificially produced. Laundry detergent religion and self-help body lotion attempt to produce the aroma. But they fail.

Only time spent with Christ himself can produce fragrance of life. And in a world filled with the rancid smells of death, self-promotion, and the rottenness of decay, it needs to linger...

I'm guessing that tomorrow morning when I pack to drive home, I will still be able to detect in my shirt, the aroma of the evening air sitting out on the deck. In the same way, I hope my life carries the fragrance of Christ.

God, pour in, over, and through me.

For now...
D

YES!

For the Son of God, Jesus Christ... in him it is always Yes. For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.
-- 2 Corinthians 1:19-20

Religions tend to preach a God of No. And to some extent, this is true... Don't kill, don't steal... don't worship idols... don't dance... OK, I added that last one. But see how easy it is? Religion tends to add to... to extend the borders... to overstep.

There was a time in my life when I served a God of No. I attempted to live up to rules - most centering around what I could not do, say, think or be. More and more however, I've come to know God as a God of YES.

He is the God who sees us as we are and says "YES, I will redeem." He is aware of our struggles and says "YES, I will be present." He knows our weakness and says "YES, I will transform."

He has made promises about our past (redeemed)... our present (empowered)... our future (heaven). And his promises are YES. How do we know this? Because he gave us the ULTIMATE YES in Christ his son. And in Christ, all of God's promises are... YES!

So don't kill... don't steal... don't worship idols. But not because of a No. Instead, know that every No must be based on a BIGGER YES!

(And go ahead and dance!)

God, today - and every day - you are my YES.

For now...
D

WORK HARD!

"Work hard!" I said to my son as he was headed to the gym to work on his shot. 

Then I saw this... 

OK - Got it! I'm off to the gym for leg day!

For now...

D

WORK HARD...

"Work hard!" I said to my son as he was headed to the gym to work on his shot. 

Then I saw this... 

OK - Got it! I'm off to the gym for leg day!

For now...

D

HANG ON... STAY WITH ME... JUST A LITTLE LONGER...

The prayer of a righteous person has great power...     -- James 5:16

Prayer is much like exercise. Both are things we tend to talk a lot about. The execution however, the doing, usually lags behind.

There is no way to dodge an uncomfortable truth: we practice what we believe. Everything else is just talk.

None of us needs a shovel full of guilt heaped upon us. And that is not my intention. So before you tune out let me just say, hang on... stay with me ... just a little longer... 

We have good intentions. There are things we want to be more diligent about in our lives. The doing has just lagged behind. Maybe, like exercise, we've tried to pray. And I'm not just talking about canned prayers over meals; but really pray. After all, the true purpose of prayer is to know God (see THE POINT OF PRAYER; April 27). We begin strong, but are easily distracted or discouraged. Why? Because we expect immediate results. We want instant gratification. And with prayer (like exercise), we miss the point.

The victory is in the doing. 

The power is in the practice. 

And in the doing of prayer, we have a personal trainer - the Holy Spirit - who says, "Hang on... stay with me... just a little longer..." 

The results won't come. 

The results are!

You are righteous! Not because of you, but because of the One who calls you His! And according to James, because you are righteous, your prayer has great power!

So: 

Hang on... stay with me ... just a little longer... 

God, more importantly than practicing what I preach, help me to pray what I preach.

For now...

D

No one prays alone, no one suffers alone, no

THE POINT OF PRAYER

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. -- James 4:8

God is never far away. 

(From a theological perspective, it would be impossible after all, since he is by nature omnipresent.) 

There are times however, when we feel God is absent, or at least distant. Sometimes in our struggles or fear we do not sense his presence. At times of darkness or loneliness we are unaware of his nearness.

Three truths:

#1 We cannot hide from God's presence. 

David wrote:

Where shall I go from your Spirit? 

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost part of the sea,

even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

-- Psalm 137:7-10

#2 We learn to seek God most when his presence is felt the least. 

We don't seek out what is right in front of us. We take it for granted. But when something we need seems lost (picture your keys, wallet or phone), we seek. We search - until we find. We are to seek this God who is present, yet is at times hard to find; this God who is near, yet seems distant. Because in the seeking he is quietly building a character of perseverance and hope within us (see Romans 5:1-5). 

#3 The point of prayer is not to tell God stuff he is unaware of, or to ask him for things we need or want (and all of these are fine - but not the point). The point of prayer is to get to know God. 

James writes:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions... But God gives more grace. Therefore it (the scripture) says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves therefore to God... Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.

-- James 4:3-8 (selected)

God is never far away.

Humbly draw near to him. He is closer than you think. 

God, I will draw near.

For now...

D