Day 28 | Legacy

I think everyone of us longs to leave a legacy to our loved ones. For some, we hope to leave behind a faithful marriage that stands the test of selfishness. For others, we hope to create an atmosphere in our home that helps our kids cultivate a deep love for God and His ways. Yet, for others, we try to use the gifts and talents God gave us to build a family business that will provide for our family long after we are gone. I think legacies are important and I think they are important to Jesus.

On the night that Jesus was arrested he invites his closest friends, his disciples, to a meal. At this meal in the Upper Room, Jesus would laugh, tell great stories, reminisce, grieve, and then do something quite astounding. He gave the disciples a gift. He gave them his legacy.
 

The Scriptures describe it this way…

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”

Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you.  This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

                                                                                                                        Matthew 26.26-28

In that Upper Room, Jesus did not leave his favorite trinkets, a well-worn Hebrew scroll, he did not give these guys a motivational speech. He gave them himself.

In church this past weekend we celebrated Communion which reenacts and remembers this sacred event 2000 years ago. If we are not careful, we can easily miss the significance of celebrating Communion and the legacy Jesus has left us. The bread is spiritual nourishment that reminds us that Jesus gave his body in order to redeem ours. The cup is spiritual nourishment that reminds us that the blood of Jesus has washed away our sins. The bread and cup make words like forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, restoration, and redemption come to life.

However, we will never appreciate the gravity of this legacy if we do not try to understand the gravity of our sin. We will never understand the value of Jesus giving his body for us if we do not understand how worthless the idols are that we create on a daily basis.

Jesus is for us in a way that we will never fully grasp. What if the bread and the cup nourish us in such a way that we are reminded God loves us more than we can ever imagine? What if the bread and the cup invite us to serve unconditionally and with great generosity? What if, we are called to leave the same kind of legacy?

-Dan Wright

Day 27 | While We Were Sinners

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.  “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  Matthew 9.9 



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In Jesus’ day tax collectors were considered some of the worst kinds of sinners by the religious elite.  Matthew himself records that when Jesus came to dinner at his house, many “tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.”  (Matthew 9.10) 

Tax collectors and sinners. 

The Jewish people hated tax collectors because tax collectors worked for Rome, collected Roman taxes imposed upon the Jews and were known to be extortionists of large sums of money with which they filled their own pockets. 

The tax collectors were often Jewish…working for Rome…and hated by their own people.

Thus, tax collectors and sinners. 

What is striking about Jesus’ calling of Matthew, the tax collector, is not so much that he called Matthew to follow.  Jesus is known for calling sinners to repentance and to follow him. 

What is striking is when Jesus extended the invitation to Matthew. 

Matthew is sitting at his tax collector’s booth when Jesus calls, “Follow me. 

Jesus doesn’t wait until Matthew clocks out for the day.  Jesus doesn’t wait until Matthew’s day off.  Jesus doesn’t wait for Matthew to repent and resign from his position. 

Jesus calls Matthew to follow him while Matthew is in the very act of that which makes him a sinner.

I used to think of church this way:  Imagine a mom getting her house all clean in preparation for visitors.  While she cleans, her two boys are playing football in the yard.  When it’s time for the boys to come in, the mom stops them at the door and commands, “Go into the garage and take off those dirty clothes.  I just got the house clean, company is arriving soon and I don’t want you to mess it all up.” 

Now I think of church this way:  Imagine an emergency room in which the tile floor has been made spotless, the bed sheets are pristine white and all the surgical instruments are bright, shiny and sterilized.  When a car accident victim arrives and hemorrhaging blood, the intake person stops the gurney at the door and commands, “Stop!  Don’t bring that person in here!  We just got the room clean and sterile.  I don’t want you to mess it all up.” 

That’s not how it works.  The patient is accepted into the room in the midst of their pain.  A bloody mess. 

And that’s how Jesus calls us.  We’re accepted into his care in the midst of our sin.  A bloody mess.

Jesus doesn’t wait until we get our act together to call us to follow him. 

Jesus calls us while we’re sitting in our tax collectors’ booths. 

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  Romans 5.8

-Kevin Baker

Day 26 | Desiring God Above All Else

God works in our life when our desire for serving Him outweighs our desire to fit in, to not cause conflict, to please the eyes of man.   

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.  Galatians 1:10.  

I think back to how, after my mom died, my Oma became so spiteful and angry at God.  Never a conversation would go by without bitter words towards God being uttered from her lips.  Years went by and my Opa died.  The night before the funeral, I sat with pen and paper and wrote her a letter and wrapped up a book.  Oh, how I didn’t want to do it, I was scared.  Yet, I obeyed God’s prompting.  The next day at the wake, I clutched the gift in my hands and approached her.  She was seated in a straight back chair, and standing behind her with his hand on her shoulder was my intellectual agnostic uncle.  I couldn’t shake the impression of Satan staking his claim on her soul. She unwrapped the book, and half-heartedly thanked me with blank empty words. 

Years later, I write in my journal of my last moments I had with my  Oma … 

I sit beside her.  We both know this will be the last conversation we will have together here on this earth.  Small talk floats around the room awkwardly, then a moment of silence except the humming of the lights and the clock ticking.  Relatives make an excuse to leave the room, giving us a chance to talk alone.  I breath deep, knowing this is when I need to speak of “it”, the ugly inevitable thing called death.  I take in the smell of this run- down hospital, and I exhale.  I look at my Oma and know she is ready for life’s end.  This will not be our first conversation of death, just our last.  I say what we both are thinking.  “You will be with my mom soon.” And she responds, “It is because of you, daughter of my daughter that I will be there, with my Ada (her daughter, my mother) and Jesus.” 

A few weeks later, as my mother’s sisters sang Silent Night on a hot summer night in that smelly hospital room, she left this world with a smile on her face as she was welcomed into Jesus’ arms. 

When we desire Him, when we delight in serving Him above all else, we can be used by Him in ways we cannot imagine.  I had no idea God would use me to bring my Oma back in His arms.  Listen for His whisper and obey. 

Father, forgive us of our silly ways in which we fear speaking about your truths to those around us.  May we be bold as we rest in confidence in your love for us, and through your love, we reach those around us that are hurting and lost.

- Sue Parrott

Day 25 | Never Give Up, Always Surrender

There have been many times where I have wondered, “At what point does God give up on me?” I screw up so much, there’s got to be a breaking point, right? There have also been times when I have wondered, “Why does a God so big care for me at all?” In my mind these are not abnormal questions, and I have a weird feeling that most of us have asked them at some point in our lives.

 I’ve always told my students and friends that I love the Old Testament, not only for the awesome accounts of the prophets, or for the beauty and poetry of the Psalms, but because it’s a book of Israel’s failure and of God’s faithfulness. I mean c’mon…the Old Testament is chock full of people screwing up, and in the end what does God do? There are times when He’s angry and prophets have to plead with Him to bear with the stubborn Israelites, but in the end, He does something crazy. Instead of abandoning or destroying this stiff-necked people, God sends a savior. Not just any savior, but He sends His own son, Jesus, to die for them. When’s the last time you’ve wanted to sacrifice anything for the person who cut you off on the freeway, or for the person who yelled at you because of a mistake they made? For me, the answer is never. But God, being rich in mercy and full of grace decided to go to extreme lengths to bring His people back to Himself. He never gave up on His people, and in return, all He asks is surrender. 

I must admit, God’s love and mercy never really made much sense to me, but I started understanding it a little better almost a year ago. In late March of last year, my little niece Ara was born. She was born two months premature, so she lived the first two months of her life in the intensive care unit at Ohio State Medical Center. I remember holding her for the first time, just a little over two pounds, and as she started to grow I remember thinking, “she’s probably going to make some mistakes when she’s older…” I know, kind of pessimistic for an uncle to think, but the thought that came next caught me. I thought, “she’s probably going to make some mistakes when she’s older…but that won’t change the way I love her.” It was then that God’s love started to make a little more sense. We are God’s children, and we will and do make mistakes, but He loves us anyway because His love is not conditional on our successes or failures. Just like I love my little niece, and I will even if she makes mistakes, God loves us and nothing we can do will change that.

 

 

Father, thank you for loving us so much. At times it is hard to understand Your love, especially when we mess up and stray away from you, but You keep brining us back. Thank You for your intense love, and most of all, for sending Jesus to save us when we could not save ourselves. We bless You and thank You in Christ’s name, Amen.

-Jake Houf

Day 24 | I Want to Be Like Jesus

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ”    1 Corinthians 11:1

     This amazing sentence has invaded my thoughts countless times over the past several years. What is the Apostle Paul saying here? With boldness he proclaims, “If you want to know what Jesus looks like, if you want to know how He acted, then watch my life.  Live like I do.”

     What confidence to make such a statement! It’s audacious, yes, but far from arrogant. Elsewhere in his letters, Paul repeatedly acknowledges his imperfections (i.e. Romans 7) and his gratefulness for being rescued. But, he recognizes the magnificent change in his life and invites the Church to take a deeper look at the difference Jesus makes.

 I hear the challenge. Do you? Desire stirs deep within my soul; a desire to put my Redeemer on display. Because of the immense love of His Majesty, we have been given life! We have been given positions in the royal family! With these positions, though, comes responsibility. As heirs and therefore representatives of the King of Kings, we are called to make Him shine. Is it my heart’s deepest desire to look, act, sound and love just like my Redeemer?   Like Paul, I know my heart is sinful. I know I don’t always do what I should and I often say or do what I shouldn’t. But I pray that the beautifying work of God will allow me to say at some point in my life, “Go ahead and copy my lifestyle. Act the way I act, speak the way I speak, love the way I love. Go ahead…for I live like one who has been pardoned and I mirror the One who has restored my soul. Go ahead and follow my example because I have followed the example of Christ.”

I Want to Be Like Jesus

By Thomas O. Chisholm

I have one deep, supreme desire,
that I may be like Jesus.
To this I fervently aspire,
that I may be like Jesus.
I want my heart His throne to be,
so that a watching world may see
His likeness shining forth in me.
I want to be like Jesus.

Oh Jesus, I am so thankful that You have eyes that see beyond my sin. Thank You for being the Potter who never fails to mold and shape this imperfect vessel. You are my Savior and my King. You deserve my utmost. It is truly my longing and desire to be as much like You as possible. Please, Father, guard my heart and my actions. May I be able to say with humble boldness, ‘look at me if you want to see Jesus’.  You deserve the highest form of praise…imitation. I love You. Amen.

-Sarah Bennor

Day 23 | What Are We Doing?

For the past seven years, Janice and I have had at least one of our three kids living in the college town of Marquette, Michigan. Some people think we’re crazy to do this, but every winter we take a trip north to the frozen tundra of the Upper Peninsula. Of course, weather is always a concern when you head north in the winter months.

Of all the winter trips we’ve made to Marquette, this last weekend was the most weather adventurous. We had chosen to go that particular weekend because of our complicated work schedules.  If we didn’t go this weekend, the chances of us going at all this winter we’re pretty nil. We have a son in college and a daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter living in Marquette, so we were highly motivated to get there. But, as the trip approached, questions began to arise to whether this journey would be wise. Winter thunderstorms, heavy rains, followed by a cold snap promised icy roads. We even heard rumors of pending blizzard conditions in parts of the UP. I wasn’t sure this would be a safe trip to make.

We got up Friday morning, packed the car, and then took a quick look at the weather radar of Michigan to see what we’d be driving into. The radar seemed to show snow from Grand Rapids to Big Rapids then clear the rest of the way.  Winds were high but the Mackinaw Bridge was still open. We jumped in the car resolved to just patiently push through any of the barriers Michigan weather would put in our path.

We didn’t get far out of Grand Rapids before I started using this phrase, “What are we doing?”  This would be a question I would ask the entire trip. Ice covered roads, car-moving wind gusts, almost whiteout situations, and aggressive semi-trucks greeted the entire way to the Mackinaw Bridge. All this gave me reason to say, “What are we doing?”  With a heart of a mom wanting to see her kids, Janice would gently and optimistically respond, “It will all work out.”  

As we approached the Big Mac Bridge, one of my fears for the day became reality as an electronic sign read, “Bridge closed. Exit highway.” For eight hours, the bridge would be closed and thousands of people made the sleepy winter town of Mackinaw City a rest area for the day.  “What are we doing?” turned to “What do we do?”  Over those eight hours, I serious contemplated heading south to return home.  But, there was this look in my wife’s eye that said, “Please don’t let all this stop me from seeing my kids and grandbaby!”

We stuck it out and eventually the bridge opened and our journey continued.  Conditions on the bridge and roads north were horrible so we decided to spend the night at my sister’s house an hour away.  It had been a long day and we all needed some peace and rest.  Saturday would be a better day and our journey across the UP would be much less eventful.  As we neared Marquette, my chronic question got answered. I recalled all the occasions that I asked, “What are we doing?” Janice simply said, “It’s love. We do these things because we love our kids and we miss them so much that we’d almost anything to spend time with them.”  From the back seat, my daughter added, “Or, it’s dogged stubbornness.” 

Dogged, stubborn love motivated a family to push through deadly road conditions and brutal delays to be together.  If that’s true of an earthly mom and dad, how much more is this true of our Heavenly Father?  What would the dogged stubborn love of God our Father endure to be with his kids?  Check out these verses.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5.8

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3.16

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21.3-4

I wonder if God ever asked in his pursuit of us, “What am I doing?” If he did, then his dogged, stubborn love endured every possible barrier to be with us.

-Phil Niekerk 

Day 22 | Your Room

http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1151807

 

 As a child growing up in a Christian home, I knew that I needed to have a “relationship with Jesus Christ”.   I was told that God’s desire for me was not to pursue religion but a relationship with Him.  And I was given a list of things to do to ensure that I would follow –  

ü  read my Bible every day

ü  pray

ü  attend church

ü  put money in the offering plate, etc . . .

 I understood in an intellectual way but my heart struggled to comprehend how I actually could have this relationship with an unseen God. 

And so, I struggled. It was a vicious cycle of knowing what to do, trying and failing and then the overwhelming guilt . . . round and round it went.

Why was trying to have an intimate relationship with God so hard?  I wanted it?  Why couldn't I experience it? 

One day I was crying out to God, telling Him how I longed for so much more in my marriage.  I desired my husband to WANT to spend time with me, not because he HAD to but because he WANTED to.  I longed for him to WANT to be with me.   

 Then it happened. . .  

I felt God whisper to me, "That's how I want you to love me!"  

What?!  Could this be what I'd been missing all these years?

It suddenly dawned on me that God didn't want me to spend time with Him because I HAD to; He wanted me to WANT to spend time with Him.  It wasn’t a checklist.  It was a relationship!   

God had the same longing and desire for my relationship with Him, as I had for my husband! 

If my husband saw our relationship solely as a list of duties: 

ü  Took out the trash.

ü  Played with the kids

ü  Kissed my wife

ü  Fixed the leaking faucet

I’m sure you can imagine what my response would be  . . .  And yet, that’s how I viewed my relationship with God.

If I give everything I have to the poor and even sacrifice my body, I could boast about it; but if I don’t love others, I have gained nothing.  1Corinthians 13.3 (NLT)
  

Why would God feel any differently about the checklist I had for Him?  These weren’t given to me so I could check them off and feel good about myself.  They were given to develop my love for God and grow my relationship with Him and absent of love and relationship they become only things to boast about, nothing more. 

John Ortberg, in his book God is Closer than You Think tells the story of his grandmother who had six children.  When asked which of her six children she loved the most . . .  "She said love for your children doesn't work that way.  She said it's as if when each child is born, another room gets added to your heart.  And no one else occupies that room.  It doesn't have to be bigger or better than any other room.   It's just theirs." 

"'In my Father's house are many rooms,' Jesus said.  One of them was added on when you became his child.  That one is yours, and no one else can ever occupy it.  It is secret to you and Him.  It's your own Sistine chapel.  It is furnished by every moment of intimacy and wonder and togetherness shared by you and your Father. "   (John Ortberg)

If you have struggled, like me, in having an intimate relationship with God, I encourage you to set aside the checklist and just BE with Him.  He is waiting, inviting you to grab hold of this incredible relationship. He has a room prepared just for you - won't you meet Him there today?

Lord, put within us a burning to desire to WANT to be with You, not because we know we should but because we simply desire You.  May we be satisfied with nothing less.  Amen.

-Kristi Huseby

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