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40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 40.Joy

40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 40.Joy

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4, ESV)

Rejoice Always

We are almost there. Today is the last day of Lent. We have been preparing for this moment for the last 40 days. Tomorrow is Easter. Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection. It is a day that is marked with joy and celebration. But this joy is not to be reserved for one day of the year. Jesus is alive every day.

The Apostle Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. The most remarkable thing about this verse was that Paul wrote this verse from prison. The prisons of the ancient world were terrible places to be. There are few worse places where Paul might have found himself. But even in these terrible conditions, Paul says: “Rejoice!”

Joy is a mindset. It is more than an emotion. Happiness is an emotion. Happiness is based on circumstances. Joy is not. I can be unhappy and still have joy. Joy is a supreme confidence that comes from God no matter what circumstance I might face.

If all I ever pursued was what made me happy, I would live a miserable life. The things that are good for me are not necessarily what makes me happy in a given moment. The pursuit of fleeting happiness will rob me of lasting joy. Discipline does not make me happy. But there is joy that is derived from living a disciplined life.

I am certain the cross did not make Jesus happy. But we are told that it was for the JOY set before him, that he endured the cross (see Hebrews 12:2). He was not living for happiness, but living for joy. The joy was salvation for you and me and eternity together with him.

Surprised by Joy

The story of Easter is such a great story because it is so unexpected. The women that come to the tomb did not discover what they thought they would see. They expected to find a dead bodied hidden in a cave. What they discovered was that Jesus alive. It was more than they could have hoped or imagined.

This is the point. God is full of surprises. A life in Christ is filled with unexpected surprises that bring amazing joy. We never know the doors that God will open up and the stones we will roll away when a life is lived in faith.

I leave you with the the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:14. It is my prayer for you:

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14–19, ESV)

May you experience greater things in God to be filled with immeasurable Easter joy!

Reflection
  1. How would you describe the difference between happiness and joy?
  2. Where do you find joy? How do you make your aim joy rather than happiness?
  3. How do you share joy with others?
  4. Celebrate the resurrection! It is our hope and joy.

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40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 39.Grief

40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 39.Grief

“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” (2 Corinthians 7:10, ESV)

“Good grief!” That was one of Charlie Brown’s favorite lines. But what is so good about grief? How can we put those two words together?

It is good to shed a tear. Grief is necessary. Grief is a process through which we confront our most difficult loses in life. Don’t let anyone tell you that you should not grieve. Loss is real. The Bible tells us that even Jesus wept (John 11:35). We need grief mixed with hope to confront the darkest realities and consequences of sin.

But through it all, for those of us who are believers, we grieve with hope, knowing that Jesus lives and the victory is ultimately won (see 1 Thessalonians 4:13). Grief needs hope. Without hope, grief becomes despair. But grief mixed with hope is an extremely healthy response to the realities of life and death.

Grief points us to our need for a Savior. As a pastor, I frequently officiate funerals. One of the things that I remind people attending the funeral is that death is a fate we will all face. One day we will be the one in the casket with our friends and family members gathered for our funeral. That is sad. But it is that grief will also draw us to Jesus the Savior who gives us hope.

Today is Good Friday. In the same way we might ask what is so good about grief, we might ask what so good about this Friday? It is the day which Jesus died on the cross. Why would we call it good?

It is good because it is for our forgiveness. It is for our salvation. It is good in that the ultimate act of love and grace was played out on this day. It is a day of mercy. It is a day fill with hope because we know that Sunday is coming.

On this day, the followers of Jesus were grieved over his death. This was the one they had dedicated their lives to follow. This was the one in whom they had placed their hope. The combination of grief plus the loss of hope led to despair. That is not a place we want to be. Grief is good, but despair is not.

Grief + loss of hope = despair

Today we are grieved that Jesus had to die for our sins. But we are at a much different place than the disciples. We see death of Jesus in the light of the resurrection. We know it was not the nails that held him to the cross. It was his great love for us. We observe the events of the cross with hope. Grief mixed with hope produces a much different result.

Grief + hope = trust in Jesus

Grief and hope will open the door for the 40th – and final – thing not to give up for Lent which we will share tomorrow.

Reflection
  1. Do you think that grief is good?
  2. What does Good Friday mean to you?
  3. How is grief different with hope and without hope?

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40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 38.Community

40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 38.Community

Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:25, ESV)

Faith is not lived in a vacuum. God has called us to life together. The redemption that Jesus won on the cross was so that we would be reconciled with God. It was also so that we could be reconciled with one another and live in harmony.

The community that God calls us to is the Church. The Church is not a building. It is not an event we attend. The Church is the assembly of God’s people. The New Testament Greek word for church is translated “gathering.”

We are called to fellowship. But fellowship is something that is terribly misunderstood in the church. We have “fellowship events.” This might be going to a church night at the local minor league ballpark. It might be the church bowling league. It might be a potluck dinner. These are good things to do and are part of what it means to be in fellowship, but there is more that makes fellowship.

There are two parts to that word. There is “fellow” and there is “ship.” I want you to picture a ship. There are people on the ship. All the people in the boat are going to the same place. That is the idea of fellowship. We are fellows in a ship that share a common destination. If the ship should sink, we will all sink. If the ship should arrive at the port, we will all arrive at the port.

A Christian without a church is like a sailor without a ship. The sailor will not get far without a boat with other sailors. We are working together to reach a common destination. God does not call us to go alone. We get there together. And it is important to recognize that it is more about the journey and the people we share the journey with than it is about the destination.

You are part of something bigger than yourself

It’s not about YOU! It’s about Jesus. Jesus is glorified when his people do life together in unity and love. I think about the old Sunday School song where we sang, “They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love.”

Keep in mind the church is not perfect. It is flawed. Sometimes deeply flawed! There will be times when we disappoint each other. But that is the opportunity for us to practice grace and forgiveness. It is the opportunity to show that God’s mercy and grace have truly entered into our lives.

This is Maundy Thursday. On this night Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper. Another name for this meal is communion. What joins us together is the forgiveness Jesus won on the cross. It’s bigger than anyone of us and we are joining into that when we participate in this meal.

We can do more together

A big reason God calls us to community is because we can do more together than we can do alone. I have shared with you about an effort to provide 80,000 meals for children in Haiti. Our original goal was 20,000. But after seeing people come together to make this happen, we realize we could do even more. We quadrupled the effort. More children will now be fed!

This is a testimony to the power of community! I am grateful for this community called Greater Things Today. We have 13,000 people who receive these emails on a daily basis. God is using this community in amazing ways.

On a final note, our church in New Jersey is hosting prayer vigil starting at 8 pm this evening. If you would like us to pray for you, please share your prayer the prayer request page. We will be glad to pray for you. Please pray for us as well.

Reflection
  1. Why is living in community hard?
  2. Do you think you can live as a faithful Christian outside the church?
  3. Share your prayer request.

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40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 37.Sacrifice

40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 37.Sacrifice

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13, ESV)

On Monday, we talked about the tie between worship and sacrifice. Jesus says that there is no greater love than one who would lay down his life for his friends. There is no one who personifies this more than Jesus himself.

Today, I write this out of gratitude. I write in gratitude of my Savior who gave his life for me. He endured the cross, scorning its shame, so that I might be saved from my sin. He took the pain and the punishment that I deserved and made it his own. Thank you Jesus for the tremendous gift of salvation.

I also think about the many others who have given their lives. We look to those who have served our country. There are those who died on the battlefield. There are also those who live everyday with the physical and emotional wounds of war. Their sacrifices secured the freedom that we enjoy this day. We salute them.

I am also grateful for those who continue to put their life on the line every day. There are the first responders. There is law enforcement. We are thankful for what they do that enables us to live in relative peace, safety, and security.

I also am reminded of the persecuted church. I think about the Christians in Egypt this past Sunday who were victims of a terrorist attack. There are many who have faced martyrdom throughout the centuries as a result of their confession of faith. We are grateful for their steadfastness in the face of death. Hebrews 11 describes these people:

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. (Hebrews 11:35–38, ESV)

Our prayer is that God would keep those who suffer persecution strong in faith. We pray that their suffering would serve as a witness even to their persecutors. And we pray that we would have the faith and resolve to endure persecution and martyrdom if that fate would befall us. Finally, we give thanks to God for the crown of righteousness and the reward that is given to all who suffer for the sake of the gospel.

Reflection

Lord, thank you for your sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for the many who have made sacrifices to give us a better life. We lift up the persecuted church and those who put their life on the line to follow you. Keep them strong in their confession of faith. Give them endurance. May their witness serve to create and build faith in others. Keep us strong in our faith that we might endure persecution if that day should come. May all of us who live by faith long for the day when we will join in glory and victory. Amen.

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40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 36.Anger

40 Things NOT to Give up for Lent: 36.Anger

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. (Romans 12:9, ESV)

Anger might be a strange thing to NOT give up for Lent. Anger seems like it should be something that we would want to let go. But let me make a case for anger.

This week is Holy Week. When Jesus came into the Temple on Palm Sunday, John says that he braided a whip (see John 2:15). I could almost imagine the rage that Jesus had has he prepared to cleanse the temple. His actions were calculated and came out of righteous anger.

Another incident is when the little children come to Jesus. The disciples rebuked the people bringing the children. Mark tells us that Jesus became indignant towards his disciples (see Mark 10:14). We imagine the picture of this situation with the happy Jesus and the kids sitting on his lap. We don’t often think about his reaction to the disciples.

A third instance is when Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me Satan” (see Matthew 16:23). This is not the nice and safe Sunday School Jesus. I imagine this as the sternest of rebukes that came from Jesus.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see the anger of God stirred. We know that God is holy and righteous. He is without sin. But the Bible speaks about God being angry.

Anger in itself is not sinful. It is what we do with the anger and where we direct our anger that makes it sinful.

Anger can be a good thing. Romans 12:9 tells us to abhor what is evil. It should anger us that people go hungry. The violence that we see in the streets of our cities and many places in this world ought to bring about anger. It should upset us that bullying is a problem in our schools. There is much that is not right in our world. And we should not be okay with that.

Be angry and fight! But fight for what is right. Fight for peace. Fight for justice. Fight for those who are marginalized. Fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Stand up for those who have no voice. Help those who cannot help themselves.

A final word about anger. Consider the words of Paul in Ephesians:

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26–27, ESV)

Notice he says to be angry. But he is also quick to point out that we should not allow our anger to control us. Rather we are to control our anger. Anger is trumped by love. Often love is expressed through anger. But love should always guide our anger. Not the other way around. Consider that we are called to love even those with whom we may be angry.

Reflection
  1. Do you think that anger is a sin?
  2. What is an example of righteous anger?
  3. Where is God calling you, out of love, to have less tolerance for someone’s actions?