Wellspring. Karen Moore
parents disciplined us for a little while, as it seemed best to them, but God does it for our benefit so that we can share his holiness. No discipline is fun while it lasts, but it seems painful at the time. Later, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it.
—Hebrews 12:10-11
When we think of people in training, we may think of athletes who consciously work to perfect the game of their choice or the prima ballerina who spends hours literally on her toes.
Discipline feels better if we buy into its benefits somehow. As we were growing up, being trained and nurtured by our parents, we may not have appreciated disciplinary measures and yet, we might honestly say, those actions helped shape who we are today.
God is our divine Parent, and in his love for us, he also shapes and molds us. His discipline is meant to bring us closer to him. The obedience he demands helps us become more than we would be without him. As we learned to respect our parents and teachers, those who stood in authority over us as kids, we learn to respect our heavenly Father as well.
It's a good day to accept the beauty of discipline. Get out and perfect your swing, set the bar higher, study the Word . . . for God has a great desire to shape you into one of his own.
In the Flow
Lord, I'm not always happy to go through trials or work on the things that are hard. Help me trust your hand in all that I face, seeing your work perfected in me as much as possible. Thank you for loving me so much. Amen.
March 3
Living in Grace
Therefore, once you have your minds ready for action and you are thinking clearly, place your hope completely on the grace that will be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.
—1 Peter 1:13
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate. Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has."
Most of us appreciate the sense that we live in God's grace. We like knowing we can fall down and get up again without a big penalty. We like knowing God takes us back again after we make a mess of the life he's given us.
We're living right now in his incredible grace. We walk in it, drink it in, and where we can, we direct it toward others. We extend the hand of grace to friends and complete strangers. This is the kind of action God wants us to take because of the hope he has placed within us. Our hearts and minds are poised and ready to be his voices, his hands, and his tireless feet. We have the treasure of seeing God in everything, of realizing that his hand alone brought all that we have into fruition.
Be gracious today to yourself and those you meet along the
In the Flow
Lord, I am humbled by your grace, by your forgiveness, and your tenderness toward me. Help me share those very same gifts with everyone around me. Amen.
March 4
The Pool of Blessings
The LORD bless you and keep you. The LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The LORD lift up his face to you and grant you peace.
—Numbers 6:24-26
Charles Dickens commented that we should "Reflect upon our present blessings—of which every man has many—not on our past misfortunes, of which all men have some."
As human beings, it's sometimes too easy to slip into a pattern of rewinding our past, telling old stories to the point where most people could fill in the blanks for us and letting those hardships become the face we bring to the world. We can slip back to yesterday, but is it wise?
The Dickens quotation defines another option. It says we can reflect on our blessings, those things that are good in our lives and offer opportunities to speak of God's love and grace.
As we go forward today, let us reflect on all that God has given us and count the blessings he has bestowed that are without number. Splash your face with his morning light and refresh your mind with the joy of all that he has done. You are his workmanship, not carved from stone, but created by love to enjoy the blessings of his handiwork. Live today in the present light of his grace.
In the Flow
Lord, thank you for the blessings you have brought into my life. Let me count the blessings without end you have given me today and shine your light for others. Amen.
March 5
Like a Watered Garden
The Lord will guide you continually and provide for you, even in parched places. He will rescue your bones. You will be like a watered garden, like a spring of water that won't run dry.
—Isaiah 58:11
Have you ever been really thirsty? You know the kind of thirst that chugging a big glass of water or slamming down a soda just won't cure? It's easy to take getting a glass of water to quench our thirst for granted, even though much of the world struggles to find good drinking water. Many people are thirsty. Many people are parched. Yet even in those places, God offers to be a spring of water that won't run dry.
He parted the waters of the Red Sea and brought his children safely across to dry land. He guided every step and refreshed their spirits with manna and birds. He opened up veins of water from solid rocks to relieve their thirst. God continues to guide and to refresh us wherever we are. He still offers to be our living water if we reach out to him.
If you're feeling a little dry today, needing a bigger splash of his love, then take your little cup and put it out to him. He'll fill it and then he'll keep filling every cup you are willing to put in his hand. Go and get refreshed and renewed in his love today.
In the Flow
Lord, I am thirsty. Sometimes I don't even realize that I've gotten away from you, but when I do, I know I want to leave the desert I've put myself in and draw from your wellspring of living waters. Renew my heart and my life in you today. Amen.
March 6
The One and Only Mediator
There is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the human Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a payment to set all people free.
—1 Timothy 2:5-6
Timothy tells us here that Christ himself is our mediator with God. He stepped in on our behalf to negotiate a place for us in Heaven. As John Calvin put it, "Christ's work as Mediator was unique: it was to restore us to divine favor and to make us sons [and daughters] of God, instead of sons of men. We became heirs to a heavenly kingdom."
So, okay, you may not stop to realize your life is on trial or that you need someone to go stand in the gaps, but the truth is you do, we all do, because God alone is Holy. We're on a finite path and only God himself could devise a way to bring us back home again from this journey. That's the work God did through our Mediator, Jesus.
Today, let's give thanks for our path and remember the one who gives us life . . . life eternal. Then, let's step out in faith and see what we can do to encourage a few more of God's children to step into the fold. Bring a little bit of heaven to everyone you meet today.
In the Flow