A Wretch Like Me

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Yesterday began a three-day series in "setting yourself apart because of..." 

I really am a miserable human being.

Every single day, I behave selfishly. I put my own needs before others, and I look out for my own comfort more than the legitimate needs of those around me.

I covet and am jealous, am impatient and unkind, and want what suits me rather than what builds Christ's church.

I am a wretch. 

It's only when we stop to consider how undeserving we are that grace truly begins to look amazing.

whatsyourgrief.com

Grace, according to one source, is God's gift to us that is "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" (The New Dictionary of Theology).

Not one of us humans would deliberately set out to give good things to people who have cursed us and rejected us. We would never desire to spend time with those who mock us or show spite in the face of kindness. We just wouldn't - but Christ did.

You and I have, in our sin, rejected Christ. We have behaved wretchedly to the One who only loved us, and we deserve to have Him turn his back on us and leave us without hope. 

We deserve damnation, but because of grace, that totally unexpected and undeserved gift, we have a hope and a future.

Because of grace, we are free from sin's shackles.

Because of grace, we have seen His glory.

Because of grace, we have been saved.

Amazing grace, indeed.

Today's Prayer: "Father, I confess to you my innate wickedness. There is nothing good in me, and even my good deeds are like filthy rags. The only hope I have is your spirit in me, so I beg you today to fill my emptiness with more of you. Remind me often of my true condition and help me see the wonder that your grace really is. Not only that, but help me to share its wonder with those who don't know! Grace like this must be shared, and I pray that I will be a testimony in all I say and do."

Because of Love

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Yesterday was "despite your lack of knowledge," or to read from the beginning, click here. Today begins a three-day series in "setting yourself because of..." 

Fasting is making me hungry. 

Duh, I know, but deliberately going without so many of the foods I normally eat is making my stomach growl, and as more time passes, it's also making it harder to do what I normally do. Yesterday at the gym, running three miles was much more taxing on me than it normally is. (If I've learned anything from watching that crazy show Naked and Afraid, it's that we need protein. And that I'm so grateful we wear clothes.)

Fasting doesn't make me super-spiritual. Disciplining myself with what I eat doesn't make my physical body any less hungry, and today it didn't even make me crave those cookies at Ingle's any less. 

Why, then, do I do it? If it's not a magic portal into a more spiritual realm, why am I denying myself? What's the big deal?

It's this: when I purpose to detach myself from the world, I am making room to attach myself to God. 

Every time a hunger pain or craving hits, I am prompted to pray when I otherwise might not be. My denial of myself sets up more opportunities to worship Him. I fast to show my love to the One who first loved me.

letitbebeautiful.com

There is nothing magical about fasting, but we do it because of the all-consuming love that was shown to us. We fast so we will be more consumed with God than the things that so easily distract us. 

Our enemy wants us to forget the enormity of the sacrifice Christ made. He wants us to forget the beatings, the public execution, the spear in the side and the hanging on the cross. When we do, it's easier for our faith to appear burdensome and for us to make light of the grace we were shown. 

This is why we fast, so that through our small sacrifices we are reminded of His. It's only because of love that we live, and it's only because of love we have hope. May we all check our motives today and ensure that whatever we've given up, our motivation is love.

Today's Prayer: "Lord, remind us of the greatness of your love for us. It's so easy to listen to the shouts of the world that bemoan and mock your existence, but we pray for ears to hear your still, small voice whispering love. We ask you not to ease the pangs we feel from our fasts but if anything, to strengthen them. Let every pain we feel remind us of the pain you endured on our behalf. Let our sacrifices only serve to remind us of yours, motivated only by the purest love."

I'm Not a Smart Man

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Yesterday was "despite your failures," and today is "despite your lack of knowledge."

Jesus doesn't need you to be a scholar.

It's intimidating, sometimes, to navigate the world of Christianity. With words like exegesis and justification and substitutionary atonement floating around, it can be understandably easy to get confused and feel, well, dumb.

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There are more books than you could ever read lining Christian bookstore shelves, and you may feel like you need a degree in theology to understand just what it is you believe.

The good news is you don't.

You don't have to understand the nuances of Christian doctrine to follow Christ. You just have to believe. 

You don't have to be able to define the terms to follow Christ. You just have to follow. 

You don't have to be an expert. You just have to be you, devoted to Him.

Today's Prayer: "Lord, you tell us to come to you like little children in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In a world where we're constantly confronted by all we don't know, it can be hard to have the faith of a child, because we think we should have the knowledge of a scholar. While it is a privilege to have access to scholarly books and unlimited knowledge, sometimes we need to forget all the facts and just focus on you. Let us never be tempted to worship what we know instead of Who we know."

Perfectly Weak

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Yesterday was "despite a lack of time," and today is "despite your failures."

Call me a classic perfectionist. 

My whole life, I've wanted to do things right. Not just right, but perfectly. Better than anyone else. I've had a need - a compulsion, really - to excel. So for someone like me, not being excellent is more than just an inconvenience. It's a nightmare.

Messing up comes with being human, though. No matter how hard we work or how much effort we give, we will fall short - and sometimes fall on our faces. It's true in our jobs, our parenting, our marriages, and even our walks with the Lord. Failures happen. We mess up. 

shewearsmanyhats.com

When we look in the mirror and see nothing but mistakes, God sees righteousness. He sees the blood of His son covering all of our shortcomings, and He doesn't write us off. He doesn't have a supernatural scorecard where He rates us like we rate ourselves. Our failures don't disqualify us from being His children. Rather, our weaknesses are opportunities for His grace. His "power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Cor. 12:19).

Grace is never an excuse for giving less than your all, but failure is never an excuse for giving up. 

Regardless of what mistakes you made this week, God is making you new. Rest in the knowledge that you - because you are His - are enough.

Today's Prayer: "I could list way after way I have failed this week. I have failed you, I have failed my family, I have failed myself. But Lord, you promise that you will never leave me, so I need your presence in those failures. I need you because of them and through them. Remind me that I am not the sum of my mistakes, and that no matter what, you take great delight in me. Rejoice over me with your singing, Lord, and let my soul hear the tune."

Before All the Rest

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Today is day 3 of "Setting Ourselves Apart IN..." Day 1 was in work, day 2 was in words, and day 3 was in relationships. Today begins "Setting Ourselves Apart Despite...", and it's a doozy - despite a lack of time.

This week, my calendar and my to-do list have combined forces and renamed themselves "Can We Break Her."

They're pretty close.

zazzle.com

Honestly, I can only remember one other season of my life where I felt this much pressure. I don't know why, but there are a zillion things I must do and far fewer than a zillion minutes in which to do them. And I'm not talking about getting my nails painted or a new novel read. I'm talking about things that really matter. Things that must be done or else.

Last night I did 4.5 hours of work after work. It's not a complaint, just a fact. I am overwhelmed and under-resourced. And I'm confident I'm not the only one who feels this way, bearing a load that seems unbearable.

Our time is spoken for, and often we're not the ones speaking for it. When that's the case, what do we do? We speak to the Time-Maker. We relinquish our schedules and lists and back-breaking burdens to the only One capable of making it all work.

The truth is that unless we make time for God before all the rest AND in all the rest, then the rest will consume and debilitate us. He might not take the to-do's away, and you might not get that nap, but He will give you rest. He says to His children, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28). In the rest of what you have to do, He will be your rest. He says that his yoke is easy and his burden light. Don't we all want - and desperately need - that?

Today, in it all, invite Him in. Ask Him to be your portion, because He will never run out.

Today's Prayer: "Jesus, we are tired. Our lists keep growing, and our time keeps ticking, and we just don't know what to do. Show us what matters, help us subtract the unimportant, and remind us that in it all You will provide what we need. We seek Your face before the rest, and we ask you to give us rest."

Just Plain Hard

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Today is day 3 of "Setting Ourselves Apart IN..." Day 1 was in work and day 2 was in words.

It's taken me a long time to come to grips with the fact that relationships are just plain hard.

from Huffingtonpost.com

We all have bonds with people who are different than we are, and sometimes those differences cause conflicts that seem insurmountable. That doesn't mean that relating to people who are like us is any easier, though. We can share common interests, work, and even a common faith and still run into trouble.

When was the last time you saw your relationships as a way to worship? A way to glorify the God you profess?

Truthfully, it's hard for me to answer that question. Too often, I see my relationships as a way to get something for myself - a way to bring myself satisfaction rather than a way to serve. But God's plan for the way we relate to others is so much more, and, of course, so much better.

Like it or not, our relationships with people reflect our relationship with God.

If I were to list words describing how I've treated others just this week, it would look something like this:

Impatient.

Bossy.

Demanding.

Critical.

Unsympathetic.

Dismissive.

Those words don't just describe my behavior. They describe me. My actions reveal my heart, and my relationships are the truest test of my real character.

When God's Word says things like, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love," (Eph. 4:2), I am convicted to my core. My failure to do these things is a failure to obey my Lord.

My failure to treat the people bearing God's image as image-bearers is a message to the watching world, and it's not the message I want them to see. It's not the presentation of a gospel-changed life that they need.

Not only do I hurt other people in this way, but also God Himself. He grieves both for the people I hurt and for me. His plan for me involves growth in righteousness, and when I behave selfishly and rudely, righteousness could not be farther away.

Right treatment of others is worship to God, plain and simple. May we choose - daily - to let our relationships reflect His love.

Today's Prayer: "Father, it is so easy to take our frustrations out on people, both those we know and those we don't. Before we react, help us reflect. Before we speak, help us stop. Before we lash out, help us listen. Our own determination won't be enough. We need Your Spirit in us to do what we can't."

Words That Wound or Worship

For each of of the next 21 days, I will be sharing specific ways believers can set themselves apart for Christ through prayer, fasting, and intentional focus. Today is day 2 of "Setting Ourselves Apart IN..." Day 1 was ...in work. 

As soon as they left my lips, my words hit their target. The heart of a person I love.

I was tired and frustrated, and to be honest, I just needed my husband to understand me. I needed him to see that I was at the end of myself, unable to take on anything else and desperately in need of rest.

etsy.com

Instead, he saw that I lack self-control. He heard that I can't control my tongue. He felt that my own feelings took precedence over his. 

In that moment, my words revealed my heart, and my heart was vile. Luke 6:45 says, "A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of."

That day, there was no denying that my heart was full of evil. It flowed freely from my mouth and hurt the one I love most. 

Our words have power that we often fail to understand. Proverbs 18:21 says, in the New Living Translation, "The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

Every time I speak words not filled with love or seasoned with grace, I speak death into both the people and situations around me. I might be killing the spirit of a child whose confidence hinges on my words, or I might be inviting the fallen angel himself into my marriage. My words have power that should cause me to tremble.

Words are a tool given us to express the inexpressible. Words allow us to expose our hearts, for good or evil, and to share the deepest parts of ourselves with those who most need to understand.

What we choose to share in words reveals who we really are at heart.

Today's prayer: "Lord, I beg forgiveness for every thoughtless word I've uttered. So often, my words are just the overflow of a heart not submitted to you, and as a result, my words wound. I hurt those I love, and I damage the witness you have asked me to give. Today, as I purpose to set myself apart for you, I ask you to change my heart. Soften it and sensitize it. Then, Lord, as I speak, let only words of praise, encouragement, and grace come from me."