Celebrate Love

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. (Ephesians 1:3-4)

The first chapter of Paul's letter to the Ephesians is a powerful one, praising God for His many blessings to the church. This opening doxology reveals how God had chosen the church as part of His plan of salvation for the world from before creation. You and I are part of a tremendous cosmic plan which God, in His eternal wisdom, foreknew. Jesus is the culmination of a long history. Paul, the former Pharisee, had his eyes opened by the Holy Spirit and he connected the dots from Adam and Eve, through Abraham and Moses, to the Christ. You can sense Paul's joy in his writing.

Grab your bible and take a moment to read the whole of the chapter. (Or click this link https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Eph+1&version=NRSV)

Here's a summary of the kind of blessings for which Paul praises God.

• We are chosen to be holy and blameless.
• God chose us as a result of His love.
• We are adopted as God's children through Jesus
• God freely bestowed glorious grace upon us.
• Through Christ we have redemption (set free from sin an death) and forgiveness.
• Revelation of God's plan of salvation
• We've obtained an inheritance in Christ 
• We are set aside to live for God's praise and glory
• We are marked in the Holy Spirit as a pledge of our inheritance.

Paul prays that the church might grow in love and wisdom, to have our eyes opened to understand God's many blessings. 

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places... (Eph 1:17-20)

With all these many blessings and more, God adds to it great power through our hope in Christ. That power is power over the grave. It's resurrection power. It's death defying power. That power working in us is grace, which God loving lavished upon us.

Don't you just love the way Paul characterizes God, our Father, with such joy. Paul uses phrases and words like "lavish," "according to the good pleasure of his will," "according to the riches of his grace," and "freely bestowed." I get the image of a happy and generous father handing out gifts, with a twinkle in his eye, as he watches his children's excitement and enthusiasm. We can certainly sense Paul's enthusiasm.

Celebrating the love of God is at the heart of Christian worship. Thanksgiving and praise are expressions of our celebration. Worship is more than one hour on a Sunday. Worship is a lifestyle. We are chosen to be holy as God is holy, and to live according to God's goodness so that we might be blameless before Him. A heart that seeks to glorify God is one that desires to please God. Cultivate a heart of praise that continually celebrates God's love and His many blessings.

Cultivate a heart that celebrates and you will know joy more fully and frequently. Reading Paul's words reminds me of of amazing blessings we often don't think about in our ordinary day. There's always reason to be thankful and joyful. God is good all the time. God dotes on us as a loving Father. Jesus fills us with His perfect love and the Holy Spirit reminds us that this great love will be ours forever. How can we not celebrate every day at every moment?!

Paul ends His section on revealing God's plan with a prayer for the church to grow in our comprehension of God's love.

I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:18-19)

Our knowledge of God's love leads to being filled with God, who is love. Our knowing moves beyond the head into the heart. The love of Christ is beyond our ability to fully understand, but with the help of the Spirit we will have adequate knowledge of the One who deserves all our praise and glory. We are set aside as God's own children for the sake of His praise and glory. We are made in Christ to celebrate love at all times, and by doing so, to be a vessel of divine love blessing the world.

God is Love

God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. (1Jn 4:15b)

God’s love was revealed among us in this way:
God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.
1Jn 4:9

I once heard an elderly retired pastor say to me with tears in his eyes, "The most important theological statement in the New Testament is 'God is love.' It's simple, powerful, and says everything. I don't know why we feel the need to complicate things and have all these arguments and debates in  the church. Just love."

Clearly, his words have stuck with me. He told me that at a Marriage Encounter retreat at the Sisters of St. Joseph's Convent in Tipton, Indiana as we were loading up our vehicles to go home. I don't remember his name. His face I can't recall. I can't remember if there's anything else we ever talked about, but those words have always remained in my consciousness.

It's true, the church has the propensity to tear itself apart with our efforts to strain gnats and miss that we are swallowing a camels. (See Matthew 23:24) In other words while we are focused on social issues like prayer in school, homosexuality, abortion, stem cells, etc, we are ignoring the great commandment to make disciples. While we are diverted to many worthwhile causes, we commit the great sin of omission, neglecting to love others as fully as God has loved us by giving up His Son for us.

I don't want to spend a lot of time focusing on what the church is doing wrong. There are plenty other people who are spinning that yarn. Instead I want to turn my thoughts to God, who is the very definition of love. For as we discipline our minds and hearts to continually praise God and glory in Him, His love pours into us and transforms us. With God's love at work in us who seek the Lord, we find ourselves less concerned with the worries of the world and the latest issues or causes thrown us before us. We know love and we know that love reigns. Love never fails. Love is eternal. (1st Corinthians 13:8a)

One might say that I am sticking my head in the sand or that I'm too other-worldly to be of an earthly good. On the contrary, the discipline of seeking the Lord's face and being filled with His love is exactly how Jesus changed the world and is changing the world and will ultimately save the world. We must act on social ills. We must speak out for the disadvantaged. We must speak against oppression and evil. Those acts of justice must come from love or they accomplish nothing in terms of establishing God's reign.

Paul wrote to the church in Rome:

God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. (Romans 5:5)
I've spoken in a previous blog about Jesus inhabiting our lives through the Holy Spirit. Here it is again. God's love is poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. So how does one receive the Holy Spirit?

If you read the preceding verses to Romans 5:5 you will see a progression. First, God has justified us before Him through faith in Jesus Christ. If we accept the gospel that God loves us and sent His son to die for us as an atoning sacrifice, then we are made right in God's eyes. (See 1st John 4:10) Forgiveness begins to make a difference as our estranged relationship with God is healed. Second, through our healed or reconciled relationship with God through faith in Christ, we have access to grace. What is grace?

I come from a tradition that has very powerful ideas about grace. According to the founder of the Methodist tradition, John Wesley, grace is the work of the Holy Spirit restoring us to the image of God in which we were created. Another way to look at grace is to understand it as God's love in action making us more and more like Jesus.

The goal of the Christian disciple is to become like Christ. The word Christian may be defined as "Little Christ." The One we worship and serve is the One we are becoming. Unity with Christ is the goal. Becoming intimately united with Jesus in heart, mind, soul, and body, is the promise of perfection. In fact, it is our destiny.

For those whom God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son... (Romans 8:29)
When I consider the goal of my life, I hope, like my elderly retired pastor friend, I might be forgotten and only remembered as someone who loved Jesus and shared His love and the knowledge of Him with everyone I could. On my tombstone etch the words, "He loved Jesus."

The love of Jesus compels the disciple to persevere in this love, this grace. Becoming like Jesus is to pursue perfection. It will be a life long journey. It will take discipline, but remember you have access to amazing grace that is at work in you. Therefore Paul confesses the experience of the Christian as one of suffering, perseverance, and hope.

we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit... (Romans 5:3-5)
How do we receive love from God, such that divine love abides in us? Persevere, with the strength of faith and the grace in which you stand. Through all of life's ups and downs, trust that God is good all the time, and that His love is making new the world and you.

The social ills of this world will change for the better as every heart pursues the love of God in Jesus Christ. There is no other mediator between God and humanity, than Jesus. There is no other savior. There is no other God. Jesus is God. God is love. Jesus is love incarnate in you.

What is A Disciple?

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher
Matthew 23:8

As I continue my reflections on the mission of the church I ask myself, "What is a disciple?" The mission of the church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Disciples are students. They follow the teachings and example of their teacher. Jesus was called Rabbi by some of his followers. Even some of the religious leaders referred to Jesus as Rabbi.

On definition for the word Rabbi is "my great one or my honorable sir." It is a term of honor bestowed on a revered teacher given by their students. It's not a term that should be used lightly.

Jesus once warned Hos disciples about seeking to be honored with such titles, for He saw the hypocrisy of the scribes and pharisees of His day.

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12)

Two things are clear from this teaching. First, disciples of Jesus have only one teacher, and that is Jesus Christ. All too often we make our pastors or youth leaders or other personalities in the church to become the one we praise and give honor. Church can become a cult of personality, rather than followers of Jesus alone. Second, when being honored by others, true disciples will always divert the honor to Jesus. The disciple who humbles himself is closer to Christ than the disciple who seeks the applause of others. Remember the Christ hymn from Philippians 2.

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross. (Php 2:5-8)

I sometimes cannot believe the sense of entitlement we bring to the church. We've been catered to by our consumerist culture so much, we think we can stand int he house of the Lord and make demands about what we want. Rarely have I ever heard a complaint linked to a word from the Lord. Instead, like consumers, we are used to having our buying power give us what we want. As members of a church we give financially to the organization. A consumer expects to get satisfaction, a fair exchange for their dollars. But a disciple gives for very different reasons. Disciples give out of gratitude for what God has done, is doing, and will do. They give, not to feel good or know their dollars are doing something they can feel good about, but as a loving response to God. Giving is an act of worship, not a means of control.

Are you beginning to see how humility before our Teacher works out in practical ways?

A disciple is marked by the humility we know in Jesus. He left heaven and the radiance of God to come to our broken world. He was laid in a farm animal's food trough at his birth. He was covered in blood and the tissue of afterbirth, something we do not find very beautiful. He went to relieve himself, just as you and I frequent the restroom. Again, not a very warm thought. The point is Jesus left perfection to enter our filth and brokenness. 

A disciple learns to get into the filth and brokenness of each other's lives and seek the Perfect One for healing and transformation.

Lord, lead us to follow you in humble service. Change our hearts that we might stop living like religious consumers and truly become your disciples.

A Disciple Loves

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34-35)

I reduce all the do's and don'ts in the New Testament down to one word...Love. I'm not unique in this. Jesus and Paul and John all point to love as the driving force behind the Christian life. Love for God is expressed in a life lived desiring to please God and glorify God. We wish to be united with God in heart, mind and body. We are promised to share in His holy nature. Love for God leads to a pursuit of holiness.

Peter said we are promised to share in God's nature. (2Pt 1:3-4) God is love. (1Jn 4:8)

Therefore sharing in the divine nature means to love as God loves, for God is the very definition of love. God is holy and we are called to share in His holy nature. His ways are higher than our ways. His love reaches to the heavens and stretches as far as the east is to the west. Our pursuit of holiness is a lifelong journey of growing in God's love.

Love for neighbor leads us to forgive. We love others more readily when we have accepted the gospel that we have offended God with our fallen sinful nature and are in need of salvation. When we realize all of us people are in the same condition, we are less judgmental. We begin to see others as those for whom Christ died. We love by sharing words of hope from our faith, life giving words that build up. We love by lifting burdens as we are able. We bring others healing and health through prayer and resources. We love by helping, serving, and giving with the compassion of Christ Jesus.

We love ourselves by continuing to feed on the bread of heaven, Jesus Christ, through a variety of devotional habits that keep us grounded in love and growing in love. We admit that we need others in our journey of faith and connect through fellowship groups and mentoring relationships, both giving and receiving love as we journey together. We love ourselves by caring for our bodies through healthy choices, knowing our bodies are God’s temple.

This is why I think of discipleship in terms of love. We are called to become a place where love is. Love is celebrated in worship and daily life. Love is experienced in our fellowship, in worship gatherings, in devotional circles, in small groups and friendships and in the joy of grateful living. Love is experienced in the giving and receiving of love in all our relationships, especially the fellowship of the body of Christ. Love is shared as we serve as the hands and feet of Jesus. Love is shared as we work in outward reaching mission and generous giving. Love is shared in our efforts to invite and welcome those who do not yet belong to the church.

These are the thoughts I have about discipleship.

Do you feel this way of thinking about disciples fits Christianity?

Zacchaeus

He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not (Luke 19:3)

When I was a little boy in Sunday School I loved singing about Zacchaeus.

Zacchaeus was a wee little man
and a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree
for the Lord he wanted to see.

Did you know the sycamore fig tree has a symbolic meaning to Jews in Jesus' day? The sycamore fig was a symbol of hope in the messianic kingdom. The fig represented hope in a future when Israel would be restored to prosperity and peace under the righteous and just rule of a divinely anointed king.

The high water mark for Israel's monarchy was under King Solomon. God blessed Solomon with such wealth that Jesus referenced His splendor in His sermon on the mount. The wealth and wisdom of Solomon, the son of David, was known far and wide. The Queen of Sheba came to see Solomon for herself because of the stories she had heard of this glorious king.

According to 1 Kings 4:25, "During Solomon’s lifetime Judah and Israel lived in safety, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all of them under their vines and fig trees."

The prophet Micah prophecies a time with Jerusalem will be restored and the gentiles will long to come tot he temple of the God of Israel. Again one of the marks of this restoration of prosperity and peace is the sign of the sycamore fig.

they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
    and no one shall make them afraid;    for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken. (Mic 4:4)

Interestingly the fig tree was a poor man's source of food. Figs were a ready meal for the wandering shepherd. Jesus and His disciples were poor. They gleaned wheat from fields they passed through, trusting the generosity of their fellow Jews. On one occasion Jesus went to a fig tree outside the temple and found it had no figs. So Jesus cursed the tree. It shriveled and died. (Mark 11:12-14)

The symbol of the sycamore fig is about hope in Messiah and His kingdom of peace and posterity, justice and righteousness for all. The cursing of the fig tree was a way of saying that the blessings of the Messiah will not come to Jerusalem and its temple because the religious leadership reject Jesus, who is the Messiah. Jesus had much to say about the religious leadership's failure to be in accord with God's love. The temple system was not bearing fruit as God desired.

What might it mean that Zacchaeus climbs up a sycamore fig tree?

One thought is that Zacchaeus took advantage of his neighbors by taxing them above the required amount in order that he might live an easy life of wealth. The Romans didn't care how much tax collectors took as long as Rome got its required amount. The rest was salary for the tax collector. Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore might point to his climbing to the heights of wealth on the shoulders of the poor.

More likely Zacchaeus climbing the sycamore fig tree is a sign that he too longed for the Messiah to come and establish His kingdom. Many were saying that Jesus was the prophet to come. Others called out to Him as the son of David, a messianic title. Jesus referred to Himself as the Son of Man, another title for the Christ. Zacchaeus wanted to see Jesus, for he hoped in the Messiah like his neighbors. Perhaps even more so because of his guilt for robbing his neighbors. Perhaps he learned his wealth didn't give him happiness. Perhaps Zacchaeus realized he needed God's blessing within which comes through a right relationship with God.

There's one more thought about the sycamore. Zacchaeus climbed it because he was too short to see past the crowd. That's the plain meaning. But what I find intriguing is why Zacchaeus could not get to Jesus. The crowd was in the way.

The crowd in the gospels follow Jesus around hoping for a miracle, a word of hope, a blessing, or even something to eat. But is that discipleship? Is following around a spiritual celebrity the nature of discipleship? I think not. While the crowd lauded Jesus at His entry to Jerusalem, a week later the crowd called for His crucifixion. The crowd is fickle and self-seeking.

Jesus once confronted the crowd, “Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." (John 6:26-27a)

No, discipleship is not being a part of the Jesus fan club. A disciple doesn't follow Jesus around. A disciple steps out of the crowd and follows Jesus into ministry ,going where Jesus sends him or her.

Zacchaeus could not get to Jesus because the spectators were in the way. In what ways is the church today more of a fan club filled with religious spectators? How is our blindness to the "lost sheep" around us an obstacle to those who, like Zacchaeus, are trying to see Jesus?

The mission of the church means to turn our gaze to the lost, those who do not yet know The Lord.

Go and make disciples... or get out of the way. Step out of the crowd and follow Jesus into a rewarding ministry that saves lives and betters our world.

Work Out

"work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:12b-13)

Working out is hard, but rewarding. Your body responds with more energy as you expend energy. In the same way working out your spirit yields spiritual results.

Jesus inhabits the lives of His disciples. How does that happen? It happens by becoming familiar with the Spirit of Christ, the Holy Spirit. All Christians are given the Holy Spirit as guide and counselor. The presence of the Holy Spirit puts us in touch with the living Lord Jesus and our Father God. All three persons of the trinity live within the Christian through the Holy Spirit.

I like to think of the Holy Spirit sort of like RAM on a computer. Your brain is the hard drive where all the data is stored. Your conscious mind is like the monitor screen to your computer. In order for you to access data on your hard drive, it require RAM (Random Access Memory) to gather the data, present the data to the program application, so that you can work with the data on your screen.

In the same way the Spirit presents to you that which you have stored in your brain from the word of God, something you need to be reminded of. Jesus taught that the Holy Spirit would remind the church of everything Jesus had taught and said. As counselor, the Spirit is an inner guide to the Christian, leading them in the way of Christ.

We cultivate our ability to listen to the Spirit through prayer and meditation. We study the scriptures to input the word of God into our minds. The Spirit helps the word come alive in our hearts to guide us.

Beyond guidance from the scriptures as the Spirit enable us to understand and remember, is the emotions of the heart of God. Because God live in us, through the Spirit, we have the mind and heart of God in us.

My head holds other voices besides the Lord's. There's my own voice. There's the voice of my parents. There's voices from past friends. There's voices from musicians I listen to. There's tons of movie quotes. There's all kinds of commercial jingles and slogans running around in my head. How can I discern the true voice of God?

Working out our salvation is growing in our ability to allow Christ to inhabit our lives and give Him full compliance. We are not puppets or robots controlled by an alien spirit. We are united with Christ and each other and we willingly cooperate with His leadership.

Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

Disciples obey. Obeying the voice of Jesus begins by learning to discern His voice over all others. Your knowledge of scripture is crucial. The Spirit will never contradict what God has already revealed in His word. Instead the Spirit will always lead you in ways consistent with the will of God revealed in scripture.

Working out your salvation is hard work, but it leads to Christlike lives. We often would rather not follow Jesus or obey His commands. We'd much rather enjoy His forgiveness and keep living however we want. The good news is that God works in us to change our hearts. God's grace at work in us will bring us to want to do God's will. His grace in us will lead us to want to please God. And God's grace at work in us gives us the power to do God's will. 

May you work up a sweat as you work out your salvation through study and prayer and listening and learning. 

Inhabit

Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)


These words Jesus shared with his disciples in the upper room the night He surrendered his life for the world. Jesus told His fledgling church that they would do much more than He had done. In order for this to occur Jesus had to return to the Father in heaven. His way there was through the cross, the tomb and His resurrection and exaltation. Jesus promised another like Him would come, the Holy Spirit, the advocate and counselor and comforter. The Spirit will remind the church of all Jesus has taught and lead us into all truth.


It is through the indwelling Holy Spirit that the living Lord Jesus is made present to the church. It is through the Holy Spirit that Jesus abides in us and we in Him.


I ended my reflection yesterday questioning how our many good works in health ministries, justice and advocacy, and teaching hope, was transforming the world.


The mission of the church has both task and objective. The task of the church is to make disciples. The objective is to transform the world. Jesus' teaching in John 15:4-5 tells me that there is no real world transformation apart from an abiding in Christ. As Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing."


I was at a ministerial association meeting recently. A suggestion was made to join in doing some fundraising for an obvious human need. It's a good thing to do. But none of us thought to seek the Lord and ask whether we should do that good thing, or some other good thing. Doing good is good, but doing God's will with the authority of the Lord of heaven and earth is life changing and world shaping. We can do all kinds of good, but without Christ, we really aren't accomplishing much for the transformation of the world.


In order to transform the world, we must first transform our own lives. Making disciples is about connecting people to the living God through faith in Jesus Christ. I sat and visited with an elderly man who shared about his spiritual life with Christ. His face was filled with joy, peace and light as he talked of spending time with the Lord each day. Then he told me as he talks to others in the church, he sometimes wonders if they've ever met Jesus.


Didn't Jesus say, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’ (Matthew 7:21-23)


Just because we do good works, doesn't mean we know Jesus. Just because we busy ourselves serving the church and other worthy causes, doesn't mean we are disciples of Jesus. The central characteristic of a disciple is one who has Jesus Christ inhabiting their hearts and ruling over their lives.




The apostle Paul wrote, "To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed it cannot, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." (Romans 8:6-9)


Note the very last sentence. "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." The reason Paul says this is because all humanity is fallen from the grace of God in whose holy image we were created. All sin, therefore all die in their trespasses. As Adam and Eve were cast from Eden because of their sin, we all are separated from God because of our sin. There is no way out of this condition of sinfulness. While we may do much good, and consider ourselves good, we are still fallen and unable to be anything other than sinful.


Scholars debate over the inherent goodness of humanity and the irreparable sinfulness of the human heart. Often when we say we are good people, we are comparing ourselves to criminals and perverts. But when we compare ourselves to Jesus, to the holy nature of God, we begin to see just how far we are from perfect love. That is why the Bible speaks of humans in bondage to sin and death. And that is why the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news! God acted in Jesus Christ, His only begotten, to heal the rift. Jesus served as a holy sacrifice which brings holiness to all who participate in Him holiness. God doesn't count our sins against us. God has bridged the gap caused by human sin. Through Christ all can return to Eden, that intimate walk with God where all our needs are met. Through Christ all can stand before our Maker naked and unashamed.


Transforming the world begins with my transformation. And it's an ongoing journey. I'm not perfect, but I pursue the Perfect One. Some days I pursue Him more intentionally than others. But regardless of my failures, weaknesses, my laziness and self-protection, Christ Jesus is faithful and He is able to sanctify my life.


May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this. (1st Thessalonians 5:23-24)


So tomorrow I'll reflect on Paul's direction to continue to work out our salvation. (Philippians 2:12b-13)