“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.” Ephesians 1:5 NLT

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.” 1 Peter 1.3-5 NLT

“Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:13 NLT

Day 15 of 40: God has given me a family with a history and a heritage. As an adopted child who never knew his birth parents and therefore had no family history or heritage… this has been a big deal for me.

Prior to being “born again” I had taken as my own the history and heritage of my adopted family… that’s what they wanted and it worked okay for me – to a point. I always knew it was make-believe… so I never really felt connected in any kind of organic way… but it was all I had – a kind of emotional “go-along-to-get-along.”

But the surrender of my life to Christ changed all that. Continue reading “PDL 15 – Formed for God’s Family” →

“I will wait for the Lord, who has hidden his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in God.” Isaiah 8:17 CEB

“Why do you stand so far away, Lord, hiding yourself in troubling times?” Psalm 10:1 CEB

[God] has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13.5b ESV

Day 14 of 40: “God is real, no matter how I feel.”

That makes perfect sense to me since, personality-wise, I am high on the thinking side of the “think/feel” scale. It’s not that I am unfeeling… in fact, my feelings can go all over the place… and sometimes they seem to have a mind of their own. But usually, when push comes to shove, I rely on my rational side to make decisions.

I am trying to think back to some “Dark Nights of the Soul”… but I’m not having much success. I can remember some very difficult times in the past… but they all seem very “long ago and far away” and I wouldn’t describe them as times of feeling like God had abandoned me. They seem more like just something I had to go through… sometimes I brought them on myself… and sometimes I didn’t.

But, once I surrendered my life to God, I never doubted He loved me and would never leave me or forsake me – whether I felt His nearness or not. I take God at His Word… and a promise is a promise.

When I don’t feel particularly close to God, I find that music soothes and heals my soul… and reminds me that “He loves us” – and that includes me.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12.28 ESV

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Mark 12.30 ESV

Day 13 of 40: Offering “God acceptable worship” is worshiping in a way that pleases God. What pleases God in worship? It’s not so much a question of “what” as “how.”

“Our God is a consuming fire”… so tread carefully – with reverence and awe. Our God wants us to love Him with all we have – “heart… soul… mind… and strength”… so give Him all you’ve got.

Today’s reading is instructive and practical. Warren notes that God-pleasing worship has four characteristics: Continue reading “PDL 13 – Worship that Pleases God” →

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4.8 NLT

“My determined purpose is that I may know Him – that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly.”  Philippians 3:10 AMP

Day 12 of 40: “Conversation, focused thinking, honesty and obedience build intimacy, i.e. friendship with God.”

Let’s be clear… any problem I may have of “distance” is not on God’s side. God is with me, for me and in me. As the old saying goes: “If you feel far away from God, guess who moved?”

But, personally, I don’t feel the need to do a lot of talking back and forth with God. Maybe it’s a guy thing… or a personality thing… I don’t know. I’m happy to drive in the car for hours without a lot of conversation. Barbara tells me that I apparently have a very rich inner life… it works for me.

But honesty is important to me. Not because I need to be “real” before God… I’m sure He gets His fill of that. But I honestly do want to know what God thinks about the “think, feel, do” stuff in my life. And I really do want to take on the “mind of Christ” in all matters – large and small. And I do want to live it out in practical ways.

That’s why reading the Bible is so important to me… and trying to apply it to current circumstances and conditions is a never ending process.

I realize that this is off topic but here’s the kind of thing I wrestle with – “justice and mercy” – as applied to people who live totally irresponsible lives, make consistently bad choices, and expect me to pick up the tab directly (charity) or indirectly (taxes).

I get the issue of giving mercy just as freely as I have received mercy… but… if that involves my continual support of their bad behavior… Where’s the justice? Haven’t I just become an enabler… and nothing changes? I just don’t see Jesus as an enabler of bad behavior.

Anyhow – back to the topic: “Lord Jesus, help me to understand your mind in the choices I face today and give me a willing spirit to do what you want me to do.”