DEVO: May 23 - #6 Laughter

A cheerful heart

is good medicine

Proverbs 17:22

 

Seriousness creates morbidity.

 

But laughter breathes life.

 

What does humor do? It helps us overlook faults. It lightens up tense situations. Scripture tells us that cheerfulness is healing – good medicine.

 

Here’s a good question to ask: “Do you laugh enough?”

 

Yes, I know that there are seasons in which there seems to be not much to laugh about. But as we said yesterday, “Life is 10% what happens and 90% what we do with it.”

 

Do you laugh enough?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who laughs more

when he looks up

than when he looks down

 

 

DEVO: May 22 - #7 Perseverance

Dear friends, don't be surprised about the fiery trials

that have come among you to test you.

These are not strange happenings.

Instead, rejoice as you share Christ's suffering.

You share his suffering now so that you may also

have overwhelming joy when his glory is revealed.

1 Peter 4:12-13

 

I heard someone say recently that …

 

·         life is 10% what happens

·         and 90% how we react to it.

 

Trials WILL come in this life. In our verse for today, Peter told us not to be surprised by this.

 

Another apostle, James, put it like this, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith  develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature  and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4).

 

Yet another apostle, Paul, made this point too, talks about it in this way: “Suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).

 

Trials WILL come in your life. The only question is how you and I will deal with it.

 

Paul talked about armor that allows us to withstand life’s trials – whether they’re internal temptations, external oppression, or inevitable happenstances of life in a broken world. The part of this armor that guards our thoughts is the helmet.

 

Paul tells us that when we focus upward on heaven – rather than downward on this broken earth – that 90% of us that determines how we react will be lifted up.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a person who wants to rejoice always

not worry about anything and

have the peace of God which

passes all understanding that

keeps my heart and mind

in Christ Jesus my Lord

 

DEVO: May 20 - #9 Money

The wicked borrow,

and do not pay back,

but the righteous are

generous and keep giving;

Psalm 37:21

 

What do families fight over most?

 

Money.

 

Throughout the history of the world, economies always go up and down. A few are rich. Most are poor.

 

There are plenty of resources available in our world – food, for example. So we shouldn’t be asking God why there are hungry people. He should be asking us! It’s greed. It’s a lack of compassion. It’s the myth of scarcity. It’s sin.

 

So … being in financial crisis may be new to you, but it’s a very old reality. Therefore, if we want to quit the squabbling in our house and make sense of our finances, we need some OLD advice. Indeed, we need God’s ancient and eternal wisdom.

 

Here’s the new advice that governs our culture. Here are the ways that most people are encouraged to use their money:

 

1.    Spend

2.    Borrow

3.    Repay

4.    Save

5.    Give

 

Does the sound familiar?

 

Well, watch how God’s wisdom almost flips those priorities on their head …

 

1.    Give

2.    Repay

3.    Save

4.    Spend (and only on necessities, not niceties)

5.    Borrow (never … or almost never)

 

Which person are you in the family. It seems like in every family, one wants to spend and the other wants to save.

 

And what about our kids? Until our children understand the theology of money, they'll always ask for more and newer and certain brands.

 

Let me conclude with an example …

 

My brother-in-law is a pastor. One day as my nephew, his son, climbed into their old car at school, he looked around. Surrounded by all his friend’s family's fancy SUVs, he said, "Dad, I wish we could get a new car."

 

His dad said, "We could go get one tomorrow."

 

"Really!"

 

"Sure. All we'd have to do is quit giving to missions and ministry." And my brother-in-law started listing all the good things that giving and church and ministry provided.

 

My nephew got it. "I kind of like this old car," he said. And never brought it up again.

 

Give, first. (It's not "her money" or "his money" or the kids priorities. (Do you ever see families play that game?) It's God's money. So give first. Repay, second. (Debt is to be avoided.) Save before spending. And refuse to borrow.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s constantly tempted

to ignore God’s wisdom

and be upside down

 

 

DEVO: May 21 - #8 Responsibility

Just as the church is subject to Christ,

so also wives ought to be, in everything,

to their husbands.

Husbands, love your wives,

just as Christ loved the church

and gave himself up for her

Ephesians 5:24-25

 

Have you ever heard anyone say, “Our marriage is 50-50”?

 

What a shame?

 

Do you really want your spouse to give 50% effort?

 

Marriage should be 100-100. We should all share in the chores and responsibilities, including the kids. Many of the old traditional roles don't matter – who cooks, who cleans, who earns, who fixes, who stays home – as long as all agree together and responsibility is shared … and as soon as start agreeing with God’s priorities in the home.

 

Sometimes when spelling J.O.Y. people often envision that they have three options for priority. Jesus … others … or themselves. But realistically there are only two priorities. It's either all about Jesus. Or all about You.

 

Because even if we try and make it about O and others and serving the other person, things are never going to seem fair. (Which is where 50-50 breaks down)

 

But if we make it about Jesus … when we yoke ourselves with him … when we grow to look like him and assume his character, his ability to love others empowers our service. And we move from 50-50 to 60-60 to 80-80 to 100-100.)

 

In Christ’s Love,

A guy who’s 50% on his own,

but through Christ who strengthens me

Mary Louise gets a better husband

than just plain mediocre

 

DEVO: May 19 - #10 Parenting

the Lord disciplines

those whom he loves

and chastises every child

whom he accepts

Hebrews 12:6

 

How would you define love?

 

I saw a Christian Broadcasting Network editorial recently which said, “Love means more than acceptance … It means discipline.”

 

That’s the kind of love that God has for us – see our verse for today. Scripture tells us that this is the kind of love that good parents have for their children. For example, Proverbs 13:24 says, “those who love them are diligent to discipline them.” Conversely, this same verse says that shying away from discipline is a form of hate toward our children.

 

Last Sunday, I listed the top ten godly tips for a successful family life. I labeled “parent” as number ten. But that wasn’t really what the research I was basing it on said. “Discipline” was actually listed as family tip number ten.

 

Why is discipline perhaps THE key to effective parenting? It’s because – as our old Lutheran confession used to say – “we are, by nature, sinful and unclean.” Indeed, children are by nature stubborn and rebellious. Therefore, successful parenting requires disciplining them.  

 

But beware … discipline must not be harsh. Rather it must be loving, consistent, and firm. Rules must be explained. They should be grounded on love and respect and God’s deepest principles. Children should be allowed to experience the consequences of their actions. And then loving parents must forgive and help them rebuild.

 

How do you define love? Well, include this: parenting requires discipline.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who remembers

that to be a“disciple”

there must be “discipline”

 

 

DEVO: May 17/18 - Top Ten Godly Tips for a Successful Family

Those who trust in

their own wits are fools;

but those who walk in wisdom

come through safely.

Proverbs 28:26

 

What would you say are the top ten tips for a successful family?

 

Actually, think a little deeper. How would you determine the top ten?

 

·         From your own parents? Hopefully they were good. But that’s how most parents determine how to do family life.

·         From the suggestions of friends? We all tend to ask for advice. (But sometimes we ask the wrong people … or we ask and ask until we get the advice we want to hear.)

·         From common custom of the culture around us? We all tend to be shaped inescapably by the morays of our culture. But do we really want to do what everyone else is doing in this messed up world of ours?

 

Yes, there are lots of ways we could go about determining some reasonable parenting tips.

 

But I like the way a pastor in Texas, Dave Dykes, determined them. He simply asked the advice of some of the most successful families in his congregation. (And he discovered what we should all know … that the best ways inevitably point back to “God’s way.”)

 

For the next few days, we’ll be focusing on a list inspired by Pastor Dyke’s congregational research, believing that the secret to successful families focuses in godly ways upon …

 

10. Parenting

9. Money

8. Perserverance

7. Responsibility

6. Laughter

5. Respect

4. Forgiveness

3. Time

2. Speaking

1. Jesus

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who would, by the way,

suggest an additional top ten …

love, joy, peace …

patience, kindness, goodness …

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control

… and the Holy Spirit who

makes all those things possible

 

DEVO May 8 - A More Accurate Way to Spell J.O.Y.

Devotion below … but first read the following Scripture!

 

 

 

 

Do you know what the most miserable day of the week is? Oddly, for me, it used to be Saturday.

 

Why? Because I’d “hard” all week. And by Saturday, I had a long list of all of the things that I wanted to do. (Half of which involved laying around and watching sports.)

 

Yet that meant that any interruption to my personal agenda was demoralizing – if not, infuriating. And there were always interruptions. There always will be. But even the “good” things became agonizing distractions from my personal agenda.

 

Now, if you read those first few paragraphs again, what would be the main words?

 

·         First, would be, “me, myself, and my personal agenda.”

·         Second would be “frustration, demoralization, depression, and anger.”

·         If you wrote that into a formula, it would read: “selfish = dissatisfaction.”

·         If you flip that formula, it produces a path to joy: “Selflessness = Life!”

 

But it’s more than that. Hopefully you’ve learned by now the formula for J.O.Y. – Jesus, Others, You, and in that order of priority.

 

But I’d simplify it even further. Scripture teaches that there are only two real focuses in life – J or Y, Jesus or you (indeed, God or you … or “Upward and toward” or “downward and inward”).

 

It’s like the famous C.S. Lewis’ quote – “Focus on Heaven and you’ll get earth thrown in. Focus on earth and you’ll get neither.”

 

·         If we focus on “J for Jesus,” life will throw-in healthy relationships (with “O for Others”) and right priorities (which will make sense of “Y, Yourself”).

·         But if you focus on “Y for Yourself,” you’ll get neither a joyful self nor a life-giving relationship with God.

·         And if you focus on “Y for Yourself,” you won’t even really and with satisfaction get “O for Others.” Why? Because people are sinful. They’ll inevitably and eventually let you down. That’s why “O for Others” is not a viable third alternative for our focus, leaving us, really and ultimately, with just J or Y.

 

Look further above. I want to refine my conclusion.

 

·         I said earlier, essentially, “What is the formula for satisfaction? The path to joy is: “Selflessness = Life!”

·         Here’s my refined conclusion: “Godliness = Life = Joy.” (For godliness, indeed, is a single-minded focus on God, which allows everything else to be thrown in.)

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s prejudice –

I focus on the letter J

to the exclusion of all other letters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEVO May 6 - What the Sabbath is NOT

Devotion below … but first read the following Scripture!

 

 

 

 

Here’s what the Sabbath is NOT: It’s not about you.

 

Here’s what the Sabbath IS: It’s all about God.

 

That’s the secret to life in general, of course. But God knows we’re weak. Sinful. Selfish and self-centered.

 

Fortunately, he want to free us from that. His method: The Sabbath.

 

If you can learn to focus on him for one day out of seven …

Maybe you can learn to focus on him for two days out of seven …

Then three … and four … and maybe 24/7!

 

Sabbath is not the end-goal. It’s the beginning of freedom.

 

Yesterday I challenged you to make plans today to be ready for next Sunday. So … what can you start planning and accomplishing today, so that by Sunday, you won’t have anything on your list that’s about “your own ways … your own interests or … your own [responsibilities]”?

 

In Christ’s Love,

A guy who wonders …

Do pastors work on Sundays?

I used to … and when I’m tired, I still do …

but when I’m prepared, I worship on Sundays!!!

I fully relax by hanging around my (church) family!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YOU ARE INVITED: Robbie's Graduation, This Friday, 7pm, at SOJ

Pastor Ed and Mary Louise Thomas

invite you to join us for

the Home School, High School

Graduation of

Robbie Thomas

This Friday, May 9, 7pm

 

It is a Service of Worship

at Spirit of Joy Lutheran Church

R e c e p t i o n   t o   F o l l o w !

 

 

DEVO May 5 - How to discover delight

Devotion below … but first read the following Scripture!

 

 

 

Our theme for the Spring is Jubilee. Scripturally, the Jubilee is God’s plan for restoration, joy, freedom, and blessing in life. Yesterday, then, we focused on the related them of Sabbath – as a God-designed path to weekly (and eventually daily) joy and freedom.

 

Listen to God’s promises regarding his Sabbath. Indeed, read the lesson above: If you call the Sabbath a delight … then you shall take delight in the Lord.

 

I don’t know about you, but I want more joy and delight in life!

 

But God says, don’t expect it if you blow past the Sabbath (like some people blow past stop signs.)

 

In yesterday’s sermon, I intentionally made a big spectacle of making light of the legalism that some people associate with the Sabbath. Why?

 

1.    Because the Sabbath was God-designed to set us free (and not be human-burdened with rules, which it became).

 

2.    Because I’m nevertheless going to encourage you to be more legalistic about Sabbath keeping.

 

Wait?!

 

What?!

 

No, it’s not about legalism … and to do’s … and not to do’s. It’s that most of us are so far out-of-balance that if we’re not overly intentional (almost legalistic), we probably won’t make enough change to discover the delight that God is promoting!

 

On Monday, start making plans for how you can be more intentional about keep the Sabbath this coming Sunday!

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who knows

that “delightful” means,

“full of delight” and apparently,

“full of the Sabbath” too

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DEVO May 3-4 - How to Focus

take every thought captive to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:5

 

C.S. Lewis once said, “If you focus on heaven, your get earth thrown in. If you focus on earth, you get neither.”

 

That quote fits with our recent focus on simplicity and our question of, “What’s your one thing?” My contention is that if Jesus is our one thing, then the rest of life falls more easily into place. Indeed, “If you focus on [heaven and] Jesus, everything [gets thrown in and] else makes sense. If you focus on anything and everything else [on earth], nothing makes sense.”

 

Wait … now add one extra line: “… especially when stress comes.”

 

When things are perking along “normally” and without much stress, we can fool ourselves into the thinking that we can do just fine without too much of God, too much faith, and too much single-minded priority. But what happens when trials come and we have “too little.” We haven’t practiced and prepared and all of the superficial things that we have been relying on are cold comfort.

 

So here’s today’s question: How do we focus single-mindedly on Jesus, rather than on all of the other things in life (even if they seem pretty good and harmless)?

 

Look at our verse for today. The Apostle Paul says, “take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

 

It starts in our minds.

 

What do we think about? What do we prioritize? It’s the old saying, “You are what you eat.” That’s why the Apostle Paul goes on to say, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2).

 

99.9% of us are too conformed to the world. So be honest: What’s your Achilles heel? And don’t take it lightly. Our verse for today – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 – is a spiritual warfare passage. To focus single-mindedly on Jesus we must continually crucify “the old man” and redirect our own thoughts. Secondly, we must do battle with internal and external temptations.

 

But … we’re not left alone to struggle against it … “for the weapons of our [struggles and our] warfare are not merely human … They have divine power to destroy strongholds. [Therefore,] with these weapons we break down every proud argument that keeps [us] from knowing God … [But first] we [must] take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

 

How do we make Jesus the main thing?

 

·         By thinking more about him? Kind of. But really, it’s much more than that!

·         Jesus is not one of ten reasonable things to focus on. He’s everything!

·         Instead of worrying and talking to ourselves and solving our own problems in our own heads, we take it all to God in prayer.

·         Instead of focusing on my wife, I focus on Jesus and he gives me the grace to treat my wife like she deserves.

·         Instead of grinding my teeth as the person in the checkout line takes twenty minutes, I start talking to Jesus about her. What’s her situation? What does she need prayed for? Does she even know Jesus?

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who thinks

he wants to think of

Jesus more and more