Deuteronomy 10: 17

O how we desire an honest, just, and trustworthy leader! Someone who continually seeks to do what is best for the people and who does it because it is right in God’s eyes. Yet we also desire that our leaders be powerful enough to get and to hold onto all that we think we need. They should be attentive to our expressions of want and they must look the part, too. We don’t want to be represented by people who don’t dress, talk, and portray themselves as we would like to be perceived ourselves. Frequently, we get exactly what we ask for.

When compared to God we all fall short of the standard. In God’s eyes there is no one who is greater or lesser in importance, stature, or significance. Christ joined all of us in life in this world, and He allowed Himself to be sacrificed in order to save all of humanity from our lost and broken state of existence. What we can do is accept Christ for who He is: Lord of lords, King of kings, and God the Almighty. He is the singular expression of the way for us to live in the total presence of God. Christ is our true hope, and His real and demonstrable presence in the lives of people should be our benchmark for their capacity to lead justly.

Nothing can buy justice. It has no monetary price; yet, it is precious beyond counting. The path to being a just and a compassionate person comes with the price of self. We need to be willing to give up our vain and futile striving for power and risk our identity and our security in order to begin to understand what it means to care for our world as God does. True and effective leadership in this world begins with recognition of God as the one and the only true king. It is founded on absolute and total loyalty to the Father. Righteous leaders must be submissive to Christ. Without that profound and fundamental yielding of heart and mind to God, no one has even the most rudimentary understanding of what it means to lead. We don’t need power for it belongs to God. We don’t require fame for all of the glory belongs to God. We don’t need financial gain for, in Christ, we possess all of the riches of heaven.

Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

They shall obtain gladness and joy;

And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35: 10

We all start off in this life as the downtrodden, the orphaned, and destitute. All of us have been abandoned by our ancestral parents, and the rightful heritage that our Father, the Creator, intended for us to receive has been claimed by another. We are in the exact position of total helplessness and complete absence of resources that the concept of redeemer was designed by God to answer. Even if life seems to be going along fine; without the redemptive work of Christ in my life, I am one heartbeat and a singular action away from facing the stark reality of a very painful personal eternity. Additionally, real meaning in life that lasts and relationships that are founded on the deep love of Christ are outside of my grasp and beyond my understanding.

Yet, the Lord voluntarily stepped into my life and agreed to take on my debts and my obligations in order to free me from the ownership of evil and to place me into a relationship with Him. Although Christ’s redemptive work does truly secure my status as an unending child of God; it also does far more for me. God desires to see me restored to the state of effective, loving living and close, intimate relationship with Him that He intended to be the everyday norm for people. Christ brings me back into His constant presence and remakes every fiber of my being into the image of God form that has always been His intent. Thus my heart is alive with the song of joy that comes from God’s heart.

In fact, the joy that God brings to me is so powerful that it has the effect of actually driving away the negative effects of evil in this world. As we embrace God’s joy and allow it to pour out of us, we can have an impact on the world around us. As people are bathed in God’s goodness, there is an irresistible quality to the change that should lead them to seek out the one who effects this transformation. As I allow the Christ’s restorative work the opportunity to turn my sorrow into singing; I become the Lord’s agent for bringing the same restoration to the world around me.

Romans 2: 11

There are times when we simply want someone to be impartial; thus, we could count on that person not prejudging us and our motives and not entering into a conversation with us with the outcome already determined. Also, this idea conjures up the image of being given equal opportunities and of standing on our own merit and being rewarded for our own accomplishments. This seems like the ideal world; yet, when I consider my merit and worthiness in contrast to God’s standard of righteousness; I think that I would prefer some sort of special treatment from Him.

For impartiality cuts both ways and my efforts at living as the Lord tells me to live are seriously flawed. Still, God means it when He says that He loves, cares for, protects, guides, and relates to everyone with no regard to where we are from, who our parents were, what we have done, and what we may have believed about Him. God takes us where we are and as we are. From there, He gives Himself totally to everyone who will allow the Spirit of Christ the opportunity to perform His transformational work upon them.

The Lord wants me to react to His impartiality toward me by accepting it in its totality. As I embrace the fact that God does take me just as I am and uses all of me as the foundation for performing His amazing and wondrous feats of love in and through me, my sense of worth and status in the eyes of my Father, God, are elevated to the highest of places. Then I am called by God to view others without the prejudices that are natural to people. Instead, Christ shows me how to see with eyes of grace that recognize the beauty, potential, and worth that has been created by God into everyone.

Romans 12: 1

There are family members and friends who are truly hard to shop for when gift giving occasions come along. They are the people who have everything, or they are the type of person who truly wants nothing. God is one of these hard to shop for types. Still, although God owns it all, has everything, and is the Creator of each and every valuable object in the universe, there is still a gift that we can give to Him.

The Lord doesn’t want us to do things for Him, and He doesn’t desire our words of praise, thanksgiving, and honor. Clearly these are good and worthy endeavors, but this is not the primary way that God wants us to worship Him. We can present all of our wealth and everything that we own to God, and that would not be close to enough, for the Lord of the universe actually desires one thing only from and with each person on the earth. He wants to have a deep and an honest relationship with us.

That sort of connection with God is made possible for us when we are willing to give ourselves to Him. The Lord is never absent and always receptive to us. We are the ones who create any distance that may exist through our stubborn refusal to fully embrace Christ’s transformational work in our lives. We withhold a portion of ourselves. We test the water to see if we will find it pleasing rather than jumping fully into God’s pool of cleansing and healing love. Yet there is absolutely no reason for anyone to withhold anything. Christ is completely trustworthy and totally gracious to receive all of who we are. He treats this most intimate and special of gifts with great love and respect.

Isaiah 53: 5

When we are sick or injured it is not at all hard to accept the idea that somehow it could all be made better. Whatever the cure, if the pain is severe enough, we are usually willing to accept that cost in order to be whole again. Some of these health concerns just improve and go away with the passage of time. Others require the skillful care of doctors or even extreme medical procedures in order to get them under control. There are still other situations where we will live with the illness or the disability for the rest of our lives; finally, some conditions end this life. In each of these situations, the person who is suffering and those close to her desire some form of healing.

Underlying all of these illnesses is a more fundamental and a deeply profound form of brokenness. This is that fatal rogue gene that was introduced into the DNA of our world through the selfish desire of our ancestors to take full control, to “be like God”. Just like all other challenges and struggles in this life, our physical pain and disease serves one great purpose. Although it is not caused by God, it can serve to bring us closer to Him. God responds in love and compassion when Satan attempts to cause us to focus our attention on ourselves by filling us with the fear and the anxiety that comes naturally when we are sick or injured. Christ speaks into these troubled times with a voice that assures us that He has been there before us and that He is here with us in and through it all.

Whatever pain we may be feeling, Christ has endured in twenty fold. However doubt and concern may cast their shadows across our hearts, God’s Word responds in abundance. From that dark and catastrophic day at the beginning of history when humanity’s suffering and separation from God was conceived, God has provided the cure to everything that brings about suffering and pain in our bodies and in our souls. Christ was present in the decision that God made to sacrifice Him for our sakes, and He engaged the life that lead to that permanent solution to our brokenness with complete and passionate surrender to the will of the Father. Our bodies are temporary, yet they are important to God. He does provide the healing and the relief from pain that is required for us to live out His plan for us; yet, He is far more concerned with the state of our hearts and our minds. We can take it upon the absolute assurance of God that, through Christ, He has healed us from everything that truly requires a cure.

Deuteronomy 9: 8

Wow! What a statement about the way that God views His own people. It throws some very cold water on the idea of personal accomplishment, and it should cause the hearers to startle awake with its implied question of, “Who, me?” However, God is really addressing me, and He means the statement to convey all of His great love and concern for my well-being and fruitful living. I am personally forced to take as my own story this account of on-going failure to let go of sinful thinking and behaviors and of failed trust in the God who has done it all.

God has given me a land, a place in the world that is significant for His purposes. He has not only placed me where I can use the gifts, skills, and talents that He has created in me effectively, He has truly granted me a valid stake in the game. In light of Christ’s sacrifice and victory, I share with God in the ownership of this land. I possess it. It would be easy to start listing all of the reasons why God has chosen me. It would also be very human of me to focus on all that I do for God’s Kingdom and on my righteousness in comparison to this world where I live. It might be easy to do these things, but that listing would be made up of things that are false and infinitely shallow.

Whatever righteousness it is that I bring to this life that I live belongs to Christ. Any goodness that I do is the result of His work in me. Conversely, the pain that I inflict and the harm that I cause are brought about out of my stubborn refusal to yield myself fully to Christ’s will and to His way of thinking and acting. Still, God has lovingly entrusted me with much. He continues to be true to His promise to all of His people that He gives us a land where we can live fully, a mission that is rewarding, a glorious eternity that has already begun, and His never-ending presence in our lives. Christ calls to me and He says that He wants me to come and trust Him fully so that I can rest in His assurance of my place in this world, setting aside the sinful ways that I stubbornly hold onto. By yielding to Him, Christ will transform my stubborn brokenness into His great sufficiency.

John 7: 37, 38

We all thirst, our throats become dry to the point of pain, and our hearts become parched until there is no strength left in us. Life can be draining, it sucks the vital fluids from our cells until we feel as if we are going to collapse in on ourselves. Then, even if we receive a touch of mist that promises to revive us, the fierce wind of discouragement starts to blow, and the mist evaporates before any of its dew has soaked into our flesh. So, when Jesus asks if anyone is thirsty, He already knows that this is true of everyone.

Christ is the answer to whatever form of thirst we may have. He provides the cooling and rejuvenating liquid that is His Spirit, and the Lord gives us the gift of a bottomless and everlasting well filled with the sweet taste of His grace, mercy, and love. God’s Spirit becomes our own continual source of life sustaining water for our souls. Even in times of drought there is no lack of supply. Christ remains with His people and in our lives through all of our disasters, both natural and self-inflicted. You see, He is always with us, for He resides in our hearts.

When the thirst becomes unbearable, and life becomes unsustainable, we need to look inside to the Spirit of Christ. We can also be encouraged and gain the knowledge that leads us to His will from God’s Word. In times of great thirst, Christ calls on us to take comfort in His presence; then, we can start to recover from the struggle of life while He cleanses, refreshes, and restores us with the living water of God’s perfect love.

2 Corinthians 6: 4a, 10

As we navigate our paths through this life, there are many ways that we can seek to be known, and there are also many things that we will be remembered for. Some of the actions of my life to date have been good and worthwhile and others have been considerably less so. What matters now is the life that I choose to live starting with today, the way that I decide that I want to live it, the impact that I seek to have on other people, and, most importantly, how responsive I will be to God’s voice as He seeks to lead me through every day.

It seems that it is the personal decision aspect of this relationship with Christ that Paul is talking about in this section of his letter, for how we commend or approve ourselves, from God’s viewpoint, is based on the way that we live, It is especially based on the love that we demonstrate to others and the resultant impact that we have on the lives of others. As Christians we can either give them a living, breathing image of Christ to help them see His unending and total love, or we can leave people with such a bitter taste that they try with all of their might to avoid anything and anyone that is identified with Jesus. This is the choice that we get to make, Christ is the one who will lead, council, and empower the decision, if we let Him.

For this day I seek to let the Spirit of Christ make me deeply saddened by the pain, suffering, and loss that is found in the lives of the people around me while showing these same people the joy that is found in Christ. So, I need to live as one who is joyous despite all else. Let me live in a way that empties myself of all ego, self-praise, and glory seeking; and that shares the wealth of the Lord with those around me. Finally, I desire to set aside my position, intellect, and any sign of arrogance; then, I desire to allow Christ to be who and what others see when I speak and act. Each of us has a personal list of the ways that we impede others from seeing the glory of God when they meet us. Also, everyone who knows Christ possesses the great gift of His Spirit to guide and shape our daily journeys. In repentant humility we can allow Christ to work through us to bring His presence to our world.

Philippians 2: 13

When I was a youth, there was a summer where growth and change took over my body; I grew three inches taller and actually lost a considerable amount of weight in just a few weeks. From my viewpoint, I knew that things were changing, but my sense of the change was less than that of people who saw me after it had happened. I did experience pain, for my joints ached; and I had some really awkward moments; since, my hands and my feet did not know where they were in relation to the rest of the world. God does some remarkably similar things in us. I doubt that He will make you much taller, but He will give you the confidence to hold your head a lot higher. He won’t necessarily cause you to lose weight, but He will carry the load of life for you. Just like in my growth spurt, you may not notice the dramatic ways that you are changing, but others will see a new person emerging.

In Christ, we are new persons; people who now have our identity in Christ. We have been made right and righteous, and our relationship to God has been restored. Whether we are four, forty, or at any other age, and throughout all of life, we grow and mature as the Spirit of Christ does the amazing and loving transformational work that He has planned for each of us. You see, every personal trainer, mentor, guru, yogi, pastor, and coach who has ever worked with people possesses nothing more than a mere shadow of life=changing ability of God. He knows us from the heart out, and He plans for our greatest good in ways that are beyond the capability of any human.

The growth pains and awkward moments that do come as we are on this life-long path of transformation are simply minor bumps in the road. They are reminders of how far we had to go and of how very far we have come in the journey of being transformed into the living image of Christ. This change that is afoot in our bodies, minds, and spirits is there because God loved each of us totally and willed that it would be possible. The change occurs and continues as we accept this love and yield ourselves in order to allow Christ the opportunity to bring about further transformative change.

Deuteronomy 8: 3

Hunger is a very big deal. For most of us it is something that we can take charge of and do something about. However, for over one million people in the world today hunger is an unrelenting and often defining aspect of life (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, October 2011). When we are hungry there is little else that can fill our minds beyond the basic drive to acquire food. In the situation that Moses was describing, God fed His people, but He was really demonstrating something even more basic than our need for food.

When people do not know God, His word is truly a foreign language. The shapes of the letters, the words of the vocabulary, and the structure of the sentences may all be normal and ordinary. Yet, the meaning of the words and phrases is beyond grasping at anything other than a rudimentary level. There is something mystical and wonderful in the way that God, Himself, speaks out of the pages of the text and reveals Himself through that same text. The Spirit of Christ seems to come out of the page and into the mind of His people, and the words speak into our hearts in ways that are beyond simple human reason.

Words that were previously unknown become clear, and we adopt them as our own language as their author, God, becomes known to us. This is a process that continues throughout life, for there are times when I will encounter portions of God’s word where His meaning and intent are truly obscure. These are usually times when God is telling me to “Be still” and to listen to His voice and to seek His understanding. The Lord will show me His will and counsel me in the desires of His heart. He will take that foreign morsel and craft an exquisite banquet feast out of it. This is the sort of feeding that should lead the diner to a real and actionable understanding of God’s intent to see that all forms of food are provided to those who are hungry in spirit and in body.