Approved & Pleasing

Last week, after returning from a retreat and launching a women’s Bible study at our church, an attack from the enemy came full-force into my heart:

“No one will be closer to Jesus because of those verses.”

“All you did was talk about things that don’t matter.”

“That was a waste of time.”

“If you didn’t see tears, the Word didn’t reach hearts.”

“You think there was any power behind that message?”

Etcetera. In the moment, those words landed as more valid and true than any other words. 

I’m sure you’ve been there. You’ve given yourself to something God called you into, and afterward, the second-guessing, the doubts, and the lies land heavy. “What was I even thinking to imagine God could use me?”, we ask ourselves.

But there are words more valid and true that fight back like a sword:

1. “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

We put forth effort within our callings so that we stand tested and approved by God, not by others, and not even by ourselves, so tainted by pride and vulnerable to deception. Feedback and self-evaluation have their place, but they don't determine whether God approves. Handling God’s word faithfully enables us to stand unashamed in its truth when the enemy aims darts of shame at us.

…So was I aiming for God’s approval by accurately handling His word? 

2. “Without faith it is impossible to please God, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

Pleasing God begins with faith, not with activity. Actions within our calling must be based on faith that God is calling! We draw nearer to God in what He’s calling us to do, because we believe that He is in it and that He rewards our step of faith.

…So was I walking by faith in what I did?

Although I did it feebly, these were the truths I had to take to heart and the questions I asked back at the lies. Whatever God has called you to today, arm yourself with words more valid and true than all other words.

E for Effort

As I read Philippians 1 & 2, it was surprising to me how many words or concepts in these chapters begin with one repeated letter. If you Google the most frequently used letter in our alphabet, the English language has a favorite one, and it’s apparently the vowel E.

Paul didn’t write in English, so I don’t believe E has any divine meaning behind it, but if I were looking for a way to remember the topics from these first two chapters in Philippians, I’d start with E.

I pray,

Eager to see what only

Eternity will complete.

Embracing love more, may your

Excellent lives bear their fruit.

I know

Each of my trials bring joy,

Envy or good will aside.

Even by life or death, our

Eternal Christ is proclaimed.

I am

Encouraged by Him who was 

Equal with God, and yet He

Emptied Himself to His death,

Even to death on a cross.

He was

Exalted by God above

Every name known in the

Earth and the heavens, so that

Every knee bows to Him.

It’s not

Easy to shine, just like these: 

Epaphroditus and Tim.

Endure, yet be sure that the

Effort’s all Christ’s, and He won. 

A Childlike Week

Especially on Mondays, I wake up with the weight of the week on my shoulders. It’s not that there’s always a crisis I’m bracing for up ahead, but that there are so many contexts I’m embracing up ahead. Home, work, church, friends, neighborhood…each one calls for attention, and I want to give it fully. But how to give myself to each one at the right time, in the right way, meeting the right need, is often what concerns me on a Monday morning. 

Today as God met me, Ephesians 5:1 & 2 spoke the direction I need for this week:

“Therefore be imitators of God…”

In my home, imitate God

In my work, imitate God

In my church, imitate God

In my friendships, imitate God

In my neighborhood, imitate God

So this is supposed to be helpful?! You might say it sounds like an unreachable standard. Yet, it’s the next phrase that brings it down to scale:

“...as beloved children,”

Little children stick close, wide-eyed to their parents’ actions, words, and body language.  They don’t overanalyze or second guess whether it was specifically in one context or another that their parents’ behavior applied, and so they indiscriminately imitate them. Blunders abound. Laughter abounds. Parents blush in embarrassment.

But God invites our eager, childlike imitation of Him, because His character and actions are applicable in every context, no filter necessary. It’s how Jesus lived on earth: “...whatever the Father does, the Son does also.” John 5:19.

When I stick close, wide-eyed to God Himself, what I’ll see in Him is love, as Paul continues in verse 2:

“and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us…”

Giving up self in imitation of God applies in every context of my week. Surely, blunders will abound when I’m more childish than childlike, but my Father is with me every step to pick me back up and show me the way again. “For I the Lord your God hold your right hand. It is I who say to you, ‘fear not; I am the one who helps you.’” Isaiah 41:13

Good morning!

There have been plenty of Saturdays or summer days when our boys have slept in, and we’ve already left the house by the time they get up. On those occasions, instead of texting, I’ll typically leave a scrap paper note on the kitchen counter with a cheery “Good morning, guys!”, an explanation about the day, and a (small) list of chores for them. I’ll finish it off with a 🙂 and a few scribbled xoxox’s. 

Very inspiring, I’m sure. 

But what if I was the one to discover notes on my kitchen counter with details from God about the next 24 hours ahead of me? What if the Apostle Paul left a sticky note about the good I could do in the world? That would be pretty inspiring, and I’d probably wake up in expectation about what each message would be for that day. Like a piece of scrap paper left on your counter, may these short messages inspire your work this week:

MONDAY: 

Good morning, child of God! As you roll out of bed, God’s favor rests on you. No task you accomplish or job you perform can earn His love for you today.  He already extended His grace for your eternity in Christ, and now He reaches out and invites you to join Him in His good agenda planned out ahead of time.

Check out Ephesians 2:8-10

TUESDAY: 

This world needs so much, so, as you wake up to the day with Jesus, let Him guide you in His ways and in His work, which are more significant than a to-do list with good deeds to check off.  May He deepen your understanding as you follow Him and grow the good you do with Him so that it blossoms into fruitfulness that makes Him smile. 

Colossians 1:9-10

WEDNESDAY: 

Strengths, abilities, and gifts, planted graciously in your life by God’s hand, are meant to be sown generously from your life for others’ benefit.  You’ll never run out of His grace, and it only multiplies as you pour it out. May His abundant grace in you do abundant good through you so that joy and praise spring up like fields at harvest. 

2 Corinthians 9:6-15

THURSDAY: God prompts good desires inside of you, and although you might be uncertain about where those could lead, your step forward by faith today is the work He empowers. May He fulfill those desires and infuse your faith for His glory. 

2 Thessalonians 1:11,12

FRIDAY: Sometimes doing good all week is tiring. When it wears your heart out, may you remember whose blood is pumping through you. Jesus gave Himself up to the point of death and then raised to life to become your endless stream of comfort and hope as you do good works in sync with His heartbeat. 

2 Thessalonians 2:16,17

SATURDAY: When you’ve tried to do good all on your own, you sit like a dirty cereal bowl, useless in the sink. Christ washes you and sets you upright so you’re prepared at any moment to do good works in His house, fulfilling His intended purpose for you. 

2 Timothy 2:21

SUNDAY: Yes, your education, background, and life experiences contribute to the good you’re able to do today, but even the best of these combined will leave you lacking. It’s scripture that molds you into the type of person who has what’s really essential, so open the Word this morning, and you’ll be equipped for the good work that’s just waiting for you to show up today.  

2 Timothy 3:16,17

🙂

Your workday matters

In the beginning, God, the Master Designer, created a physical world that He deemed good. He included humanity in His good creation, but he distinguished us above the rest of the created order by making us in His image. Our responsibility was to steward the abundant potential He’d woven into the earth for the sake of the world’s flourishing and to the glory of the Creator.

But mankind rejected this plan, wanting to define good ourselves, instead of living by how God had defined it. Now, instead of stewarding all that God made, humanity neglects, destroys, or worships God’s creation to the destruction of our own souls. Everything is out of alignment, physically and spiritually.

The promise we cling to for our future is that, through Christ, God will one day completely restore his creation that’s been misaligned by sin. He will turn chaos into order; He will make the broken whole; He will make what’s wasted, useful, what’s ruined, beautiful. Everything lost under the curse is finally reversed entirely. 

Until that day, we participate in God’s restoration process every time we put our hands to work, bringing order, wholeness, or beauty to the world through our jobs. While we're on this earth, we’ve been entrusted to research, discover, and utilize the built-in laws and principles that uphold our world and lead to its beneficial use. We’re entrusted to apply our abilities, giftings, strengths, insights, and responsibilities for the good of those around us and in reflection of our Master until He returns. We take part in:

God’s orderliness if we’re accountants or secretaries

God’s creativity if we’re designers or chefs

God’s justice if we’re in law and government

God’s truth if we’re teachers or researchers

God’s care if we’re in the medical field or parenting a three year old

The list goes on. As we steward our Master’s entrustments, we also anticipate the completion of His work when His kingdom fully comes. Somehow, the way we steward our responsibilities on this earth, affects our future responsibilities in his kingdom.  There is an inheritance awaiting us, where the little we’ve been faithful with, becomes much for our role in God’s kingdom. The little bits of joy we’ve experienced in our role on earth become full joy in the Master’s presence. 

May you experience a glimmer of that joy in your workday, because it matters to Him.

For more, see Genesis 1-3; Matthew 25:14-29; Romans 1:20-23, 8:18-28; Colossians 3:23-24