Every Day

Memorial Day 

May 27, 2024

There’s no way a holiday can serve as sufficient consolation to the moms and dads, wives and husbands, children and relatives who have lost family members to the cause of freedom. But it is our day of recognition - a marker on the calendar to reflect on the personal losses that have been endured for the sake of nation-wide gains. 

To really sit in that proves just how much a “thank you” is inadequate and payback, impossible.  Whether we’re continuing our regular work rhythms today or stopping to celebrate with picnics and fireworks, both of these everyday American activities are reasons to be grateful for all of the families missing someone in their day, every day.

We may not know you, but we honor you.

The Lord’s Prayer

I usually rush into prayer, driven by all I need, and I miss the worshipful focus that Jesus teaches us to begin with in His famous Lord’s Prayer. I want to worship, but I feel so needy. It’s a lofty goal to hallow God’s name when what I really need is daily bread. It sounds too distant to ask for His kingdom when immediate relationships need healing. His will is a foreign path in a world that tempts to define my course.

But if we allow God’s name to inform us about bread, His kingdom to teach us about forgiveness, and His will to guide us into deliverance, we can unite our divided desires and come to God in worshipful neediness.

“Our Father, what kind of love is this to be called Your children!? 

You’re a Father who doesn’t play favorites with Your family, 

yet You lavish me with individual attention as if I’m an only child. 

I am here on earth, but You hold me in your gaze from heaven.

May Your Name be seen as holy when I live in unusual obedience, 

because I believe You for my urgent needs like daily bread.

May all who watch my reactions to life’s lows and to your provision in them,

wonder at the Name I carry.

May Your kingdom come, first ruling in my heart

to reveal who I am: Your debtor turned daughter.

May I draw from the treasury of Your forgiveness of me

to spend it on behalf of any sin against me.

May Your will be done, here in my life on this broken earth 

where temptation is rampant and evil rules the night.

Deliver me to overcome like Your Son from heaven,

because I belong to You, and it all belongs to You.

Amen.”

Matthew 6:9-13; Numbers 20:2-13; Matthew 18:23-35; Matthew 4:1-17

Wisdom’s Body Parts

On Proverbs 4:23-27

In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is passed from one generation to the next. I imagine the father in chapter 4 reading from his scroll like he’s handing off a baton to his son for the next leg of the race.  These were more than phrases to pause and memorize and more than sage-like sayings to stop and admire; these were words to live. 

Wisdom itself lived in a physical body when “Christ Jesus…became to us wisdom from God…” Jesus epitomizes Proverbs. His life is passed on to us as more than truth to study; His life means transformation in mine (see 1 Corinthians 1:18-31). So if Jesus is wisdom, and Jesus powerfully lives in me, how can His wisdom affect each part of my body?

Wisdom in My Heart 

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (4:23) 

Isaiah uses this word for guard when he explains that God watches over His people like a skilled gardener. Day and night, He tends to them and waters them so nothing destroys them. He’s alert to their condition, threats, and needs, and He does what’s necessary to protect them so that they thrive (Isaiah 27:3). 

Through Jesus, I tend to the garden of my heart so that life flourishes from it.

Wisdom in My Mouth

“Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from you.” (4:24)

The same Spirit of wisdom inspired Paul to write centuries later to God’s people, “Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather, thanksgiving.” (Ephesians 5:4) 

Through Jesus, I throw out leftover perversion and excuse myself from the table of thankless conversation.

Wisdom in My Eyes 

“Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.” (4:25)

Mankind’s downfall came through the eyes, and humanity was marred for the rest of time: “[Eve] saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye…” (Genesis 3:6) 

Through Jesus, I focus on His ways to avoid the disaster of going my own way. 

Wisdom in My Feet 

“Give careful thought to the paths for your feet, and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” (4:26,27)

“...your ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all your paths.” (Proverbs 5:21) We evaluate our steps together with the Lord, not all on our own, and it’s both a comfort and an accountability to know His eyes are on our feet.

Through Jesus, I rake out obstacles that could deter me or trip me so that my next step is stable. 

Because of Jesus’ wisdom in us, “let not the wise man boast in his wisdom…but, let him who boasts, boast in… the Lord.”  (see Jeremiah 9:23,24)

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

🙂

Gaps between the Maps

Every time I sit down at our dining table, my eyes look up at three framed maps of the places we lived prior to moving to Indiana.

They hang on the wall, representing deep friendships and good times and also detours. Each city had its construction zone, where the way forward wasn’t so clear, and roadblocks took us the long way around.

Even more confusing, though, is the two-inch wall space between each picture frame, reminding me of the transition period that somehow bridged one location to the next. Transitions in life feel like they’re off the grid, too blurry to be captured in an actual piece of art. They don’t have names because they’re in between.

The Israelites’ connection between Egypt and the Promised Land was forty gap years in a desert. When they finally crossed that bridge, Moses gave them this reminder in Deuteronomy 8:2, “Remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years…”

Years that could be described as wandering in the wilderness were still a season under God’s leadership, and recalling how He led them could equip their faith for their next destination. The verse goes on, pointing out two specific aspects of God’s leadership during that season of transition:

1. Teaching them humility

2. Testing their obedience

Humility and obedience don’t initially seem like indicators of God’s leadership, but they highlight how He brings transitions across our path for the purpose of leading our hearts. For those times when our feet have entered uncharted territory, we can ask how has He led my heart into humility and obedience? Evidence of His leadership in these areas is meant to strengthen our faith.

Faith is strengthened, not by envisioning an imaginary future, but by looking back on the past, recognizing that we have a God who led us the whole way, even across the gaps between the maps.