Still Hungry? (Friday Devotional)

“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.””

- John 6:35

If you’re like me, yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner was probably the biggest meal you’ve eaten all year. Between the turkey and dressing, the dinner rolls, the mashed potatoes, and the green beans, it may have seemed like the food would never stop coming—and then you realized dessert hadn’t even been brought out yet. By the time the dishes were clean and the Cowboys had kicked off, you were completely stuffed.

When you finish a meal like that, it feels like you’ll never be hungry again. But after a good night’s sleep, I have a sneaking suspicion you woke up this morning and, whether immediately or after a couple of hours, your stomach started to growl. For all you may have eaten yesterday, all it took was some time before you were ready for more.

Just like physical hunger, part of being human is feeling spiritual hunger, a desire to tap into something bigger than yourself, to encounter something transcendent. When you see a majestic mountain vista or are enraptured by a work of art, when you are moved by a proverb first uttered thousands of years ago, any of these moments or others like them can fill that need…for a little while. But before long, you find yourself hungry again. Our world offers thousands of spiritual snacks, but none permanently satisfies.

What the world cannot do—fill the emptiness inside, provide life with sacred meaning—Christ can, if you place your faith in him. Jesus said to a spiritually hungry crowd, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” Faith in Jesus satisfies your soul’s longings not just for the moment, but for the duration. So this Thanksgiving weekend, as you continue to enjoy food and fellowship with your family, may you know where spiritual hunger becomes spiritual fulfillment: at the cross.

Pray the Whole Prayer (Friday Devotional)

“May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.”

- Colossians 1:11-12

Certain prayers are easier than others. When you ask God for a blessing—over your meal, your day, your home, your work, your church, or your child—you probably don’t struggle with making that request. After all, if God gives you what you want, you benefit. The same goes for prayers for protection, forgiveness, and especially prayers of thanksgiving. When God has made you a winner or you’re asking him to do so, those prayers roll right off the tongue.

So most of the blessing Paul extends on the church’s behalf in Colossians 1:11-12 is the kind of prayer you’d like to see someone extend on your behalf. “May you be strong”—check. “Joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light”—check. These are the kinds of things you want to hear in prayers offered on your behalf, because these are the kinds of prayers that, properly answered, make you a winner.

But the middle part of Paul’s blessing may rub you the wrong way: “may you be prepared to endure everything with patience.” Patience? Who said anything about that? Endure everything? Wait, wouldn’t it be simpler for me not to have to endure anything?

This aspect of Paul’s blessing makes an assumption we’re not comfortable with—that trials, suffering, and loss are a part of the Christian life. Jesus told us that if you want to be his disciple, it means taking up your cross, and we tend to misinterpret what he meant by that. We assume it means we should live like Jesus, but forget that it means we should also be willing to suffer like Jesus. We assume it means we should follow Jesus, but forget where he ultimately led. We assume it means we should honor Jesus, but then tend to honor only the parts we’re comfortable with.

The truth of discipleship, as preached and embodied by both Christ and the apostles, is that sometimes life doesn’t go your way, that sometimes on the road to glory you must first carry a cross. Christ did not save us so that we might escape the problems this world throws our way, but so that we might be lights in the darkness. So as you turn your eyes toward heaven in prayer, may you pray not only for strength to overcome your tribulations and for the joy of victory over them, but for the patience to endure them.

Never Too Tired (Friday Devotional)

“For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.”

- 2 Thessalonians 3:11-13

Well, that was exhausting.

No doubt your mind is still on the presidential election in the wake of its conclusion several days ago. Some are happy with the result while others are frightened by it; some have called for unity and others for protest. It remains to be seen what sort of job Donald Trump will do as president and whether the country will unite behind his leadership.

What is not debatable is that, irrespective of the result, we have just finished a horrible election. At the water cooler, around the dinner table, and especially on social media, this election brought out the worst in the American citizenry, who let the nastiness of partisanship infiltrate the formerly safe sanctuaries of family, work, and yes, the church. In the final days of the campaign, we largely defined our neighbors by who they were voting for, reducing their character to their choice of candidate. And we are worse for having done so.

There will (hopefully) be plenty of introspection and soul searching in the days ahead about our national identity and how we move forward under a President Trump, but this is not the space for that. Both parties will have to ask hard questions about who they represent and why, but this is not the space for that either. Instead, I want to offer a word of biblical encouragement to my fellow believers: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.”

Just like for everyone else, the nastiness of the election pushed a lot of Christians over lines Jesus would not have crossed. Many of us inflicted wounds that I pray will heal with repentance and time—but even in healing there will be scars to remind everyone of the initial trauma. There will be understandable calls, from within the church and outside it, for God’s people to mind their own business and tend to their own house. Exhausted by the nastiness of public engagement, a temptation will emerge to withdraw from the work of the gospel and to stay where it’s safe, within the church walls.

But do not be weary in doing what is right. It is good for the church to reexamine how it works for Christ, to reevaluate its relationship with politics and with those we disagree with. The means of gospel engagement are always up for revision. But the end is not. Our call as believers in Christ is to serve our Lord faithfully, to be salt and light to a hurting world, and that is not a call that one election, no matter how exhausting, can silence.

So do not be weary in doing what is right. If you were hurt by a friend’s words during the election—and especially if you were the source of hurt—then pursue forgiveness and reconciliation. If you spent the election worrying about your pocketbook, then reach into it and give to someone in need. If you want to see the nation turn to Christ, then go share the Gospel with someone, not with an Internet meme or a Facebook post but with a personal conversation.

You can be weary of politics and elections—I think we all are. But do not be weary in doing what is right. We serve a Savior whose kingdom was not from this world, whose gospel was not bound to a candidate, and who proclaimed the gospel with his words, his example, and his actions all the way to the cross, where his weary body was given for sinners like you and me. May we follow his lead, never too exhausted to do what is right.

I Wish I'd Known Him Better (Friday Devotional)

“In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.”

- Ephesians 1:11-12

Perhaps no trope was as reliable or well-worn in the movies of my childhood as the wish fulfillment fantasy. Whether it was the child who got to own and manage his own baseball team (Little Big League), the forgotten boy in the big family who had the house to himself for Christmas (Home Alone), or the kid who discovered a pair of shoes that gave him the basketball ability of Michael Jordan (Like Mike), the fundamentals of the plot never changed much: a 10-12 year-old child was miraculously given the ability to do something normally reserved for grownups.

Often in such movies, the wish was fulfilled through the death of a wealthy uncle/grandpa/kindly old neighbor who unexpectedly left all his worldly possessions to the child. Typically, this turning point in the story was announced via a video will, for maximum dramatic effect. And oftentimes, after the child and his or her family took a few moments to process the strange news—“Billy, you’re worth $10 million now!”—there would come a brief moment of pathos from the hero of the story. The child, staring at a photo of their deceased benefactor, would turn to their parents and quietly say, “I wish I’d known him better.” They never knew how much their relative cared until the inheritance was given, and now it was too late to demonstrate their gratitude.

In Ephesians 1, Paul uses the language of inheritance to refer to the eternal destiny of those who place their faith in Christ. For those who trust in the grace of God in Jesus Christ, in his atoning death and glorious resurrection, the future is secure—God has sealed you with the Holy Spirit and guaranteed you will spend eternity with Him. In Christ you have “obtained an inheritance;” you have been given a gift you did nothing to earn, just like in those kids’ movies.

But unlike in those stories, you still have time to express your gratitude. While your glorious inheritance came through a death, just like any earthly inheritance would, you are left with far more than just memories of your benefactor. Because of the wonder of the resurrection, you can have a relationship with him now—having obtained your inheritance, you can still grow closer to the risen, living Lord. Salvation offers what no earthly inheritance can—not only riches, but relationship.

Having obtained your heavenly inheritance by the grace of God in Christ, the only reasonable response is to honor that blessing by living “for the praise of his glory.” You have the opportunity to do what the kids in those movies never could—not to only enjoy the inheritance you’re given, but to enjoy the one who gave it to you. So may you not only appreciate God’s magnificent love for you, may your life serve as witness to it.