I saw a story recently that reported $5.8 billion worth of gift cards go unclaimed every year. $5.8 billion! These are benefits that have already been purchased, but never get enjoyed. 

Could it be the same way with God’s promises?

The Bible is a book full of promises – an estimated 3,000 of them. All the promises of God have been purchased by Jesus’ blood! It’s like saying there are 3,000 gift cards in the Bible, purchased by Jesus for us!

Let’s go and get ‘em!

1. Find a Promise.

Search the Bible and find a promise of God that applies to your situation. There are promises that cover whatever area of challenge you may currently be facing. Do you need healing? Wisdom? The ability to pay bills? Whatever it is, you can pray one of God’s promises that relates to your issue.

2. Mediate on the Promise.

To mediate means to think deeply and carefully about something. Focus your mind on the promise that you are trusting God for.

3. Personalize the Promise.

Personalizing God’s promises simply means to make the promises yours. When Solomon became the king, he asked God for wisdom. The Bible says that God gave Solomon “wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore” (1 Kings 4:29). Often when I find myself needing direction, I pray the same. “God, please give me wisdom and understanding beyond measure like you did for Solomon. May the depth of my mind be like the sand on the seashore.”

4. Speak the Promise.

We shouldn’t just read through the Bible but pray through it! Our words are like seeds. What we speak determines what we eventually harvest. So, pray through the Bible and reap the promises of God.

Let’s go get the promises of God!

 

 

 

 

Our family went on a cruise during Christmas break. It was a first for Amy and the boys so there was a lot for them to experience. There’s the whole big boat thing. The being out in the middle of the ocean thing. The barrage of entertainment thing. And of course, the soaking up the rays on a Caribbean beach while it was freezing back home thing. But guess what Blake and Jeb’s favorite part of the entire cruise was? Yep! The food. And especially the dinner thing!

Our first evening at dinner, we were introduced to our wait staff and the menu was placed in front of us. Our waitress began by asking Blake and Jeb what they would have for an appetizer. They straightaway responded, “No, thank you.” Clearly, appetizers are not a usual part of our eating out experience unless it’s the free chips and hot sauce or the complimentary bread. So, the waitress had to explain to them that they could order as much food as they wanted. It was all inclusive and everything had already been paid for. Well, that’s all they needed to hear. By the end of the cruise, they were ordering 2 or 3 appetizers with each meal, steak and shrimp for every main course and on the last evening, the wait staff brought them two desserts without even asking!

That’s exactly what God wants for us in our prayer life. We often by-pass the appetizers, skimp on the main course and forego dessert. We tend to settle for a bologna sandwich when God wants us to feast on steak and shrimp! It’s all inclusive. Jesus paid for it all.  As the writer of Hebrews says, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus”.  (Hebrews 10:19 – New Living Translation)

So, dig in. Take your prayer life deeper. Move on from the bologna sandwich. Put down the chips and salsa and enjoy the steak and shrimp!

 

 

 

 

 

Unless you’ve been married 73 years or more, Valentine’s Day will be a first today. The romantic holiday shares the day with Ash Wednesday – the start of the season of Lent, the 40-day period that leads to Easter.  It’s the first time the two have shared the same date since 1945. In another quirk this year, Easter also happens to share the date with April Fool’s Day. Go figure!

It’s quite an awkward pairing don’t you think? Valentine’s Day is all about romantic love, opulent dinners, decadent chocolates, beautiful flowers and mushy poetry. Ash Wednesday, on the other hand, insists on shameful repentance, remorseful prayer, pure simplicity, sacrificial fasting and the imposition of ashes.

The two actually have more in common than we might think. Valentine’s Day is all about love, but so is the beginning of Lent. Valentines Day’s is an opportunity to shower the one we love with gifts. Ash Wednesday is about remembering God’s sacrificial love for us. The only reason we are capable of showing any kind of love to one another is that Christ first showed love to us.

You see, our faith is nothing more than our longing for God, and His for us. But like any romance, it too has to be nurtured and nourished if it is to prosper and grow. And it’s what the faithful observance of Lent, with its prayer and fasting, helps us to do. Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day have a lot in common after all, for the goal of both is to renew our passion for the one we love.

So, have some ash with your chocolate today! Celebrate Valentine’s Day the way you always have. Do some crafts with your children. Buy flowers for your sweetheart. Send a box of chocolates to your mom. Then go to church and hear about a love that dwarfs any kind of love you’ve ever known. Receive the ashes and be reminded of how helpless you are without that love and how deeply you need it.

Here’s an idea: Show up at your favorite restaurant, get you name put on the wait list, come celebrate Ash Wednesday with us at Aldersgate, and by the time the service is over, your table will be ready!

Happy Valentines Ash Wednesday Day!

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been riding the bench.

Jeb injured his shoulder in practice before school even started. He had surgery and has been sidelined his entire freshmen year. He’s been riding the bench and Amy and I have been right there with him. Oh, we’ve showed up and watched his team play. But we haven’t had much investment in it. We’ve clapped, cheered and hoped for the best but haven’t been all-in.

Last week, Jeb got released to play and he moved from the sideline to the court. And Amy and I moved from the bench to the game as well. Watching his team play is no more a laidback experience but more like a nail-biting fest. Our investment in the game has soared like the stock market on a good day.

Watching Jeb’s team play while he was sitting on the bench and watching when he’s on the court are two very distinct experiences. What’s the difference? There’s skin in the game.

Life is a lot different when there is skin in the game.

Being part of the church is the same way. We can get really good at riding the bench. Just showing up and going through the motions. Or watching online while we clap, cheer and hope for the best without any real investment in the Body of Christ. But God calls us to so much more. He calls us to be all-in! To have some skin in the game.

I’ve been riding the bench. My experience with Jeb’s team has taught me that there are too many places where I need some skin in the game. Where I need to take the next step. Places I need to move deeper in my walk with Christ.

How about you? Have you been spending too much time on the bench? Where do you need to get some skin in the game? What’s the next step for you? Where do you need to go deeper?

Ryan