4 June: Tuesday Refocus

“Prayer is the act by which we divest ourselves of all false belongings and become free to belong to God and God alone.” - Henri Nouwen

In arguably the most famous prayer in Scripture, Jesus pleads with the Father in the Garden of Gethsemane to ‘…let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will (Matthew 26:39).’ Jesus knew that all of his longings could be place before the Father because He also trusted the Father (Psalm 38:9, John 8:28-29).

Perhaps this is why prayer - for many of us - can seem weak, boring, or unnecessary - we sense that there are places in our own hearts, minds, and lives that have not fully been given over (divested) from our own desires. We fear that God will ask of us something that we are unwilling to give. But God always meets us with Himself. God always gives more grace (James 4:6). Hallelujah.

Father, give us more grace to increasingly divest ourselves of all false belongings and to become free to belong to You and You alone, in Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

28 May: Tuesday Refocus

“To say that God is holy once is enough. To say that God is holy twice is emphatic. To say God is holy three times is superlative. God is holy that our minds cannot comprehend it and our mouths cannot express it. To say that God is holy is to say that God is God. Holiness is the ‘Godness’ of God. Worship that does not revere the holiness of God is not worship. It is the idolatrous veneration of a god of our own making.” - H.B. Charles Jr.

A glimpse of God is to be reminded that He is holy (and that I am not). Beholding the One who dwells in unapproachable light inspires an endless, and repeated song that somehow perfectly articulates who He is without ever becoming repetitive or emptied of meaning (1 Timothy 6:16, Isaiah 6:3). This is the song of eternity past and eternity future. It is the cry of the saints and angels and all of creation - may it be our song as well:   

“…and day and night they never cease to say, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!” Revelation 4:8

Father, would you help us to be holy as Jesus is holy, in Christ’s name, and in the power of the Spirit we pray, amen.

Amen,

AB

21 May: Tuesday Refocus

“I’m inclined to believe that God delights in healing our wounded hearts so as to increase our capacity for love. To receive it and give it away requires a freedom that trauma rejects but glory to God that His Spirit is stronger than our pain.” - Jackie Hill Perry

When you have been saved into a family - into a people - nothing that you possess is only for you (1 Peter 2:10). Your gifts and talents, experiences, and the healing of your wounded heart are tools of your own sanctification as well as the building up of the body to which you belong (Romans 12:3-8, 13).

“The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self. God loves us, not because of what we do or accomplish, but because God has created and redeemed us in love.” - Henri Nouwen

Father, may you continue to heal and make whole hearts that have been broken by sin - our sin and the sin of others. So that you may be glorified and our neighbors, families, and enemies alike might be served. In Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

14 May: Tuesday Refocus

“Your natural gifts draw attention to yourself while brokenness draws attention to your Lord. With this in mind, power is dangerous in the hands of an unbroken vessel.” - Frank Viola

This is an upside down kingdom. Here the first will be last, the last will be first, to find your life you must lose your life, the humble will be exalted and the high will be brought low (Matthew 20:16, Matthew 10:39, Matthew 23:12). In this kingdom, our weakness is met by the strength of God (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). He breaks us not to crush us, but to bring forth praise (Psalm 51:8), He tears us that he may heal us (Hosea 6:1).

And when we inhabit this kingdom (rather than attempting to construct our own kingdom) we see that all things entrusted to us - gifts, pain, blessings, and loss - are not just for us, but are for the glory of God, and the good of His Church.

“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.]’ - Psalm 145:13

Amen,

AB

7 May: Tuesday Refocus

“To escape the error of salvation by works we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience. In our eagerness to get rid of the legalistic doctrine of works we have thrown out the baby with the bath and gotten rid of obedience as well.” - A.W. Tozer

We live in a day when restriction, restraint, and self-denial are seen as oppressive - that true freedom can only be found in giving full vent to my own desires. And so long as they ‘don’t hurt anyone else,’ we should be free to live however we deem most authentic to our true selves. But Christians follow a God who said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).” Christians live lives of obedience and self-denial not so that we will be saved, but because we have been saved.

Obedience gives evidence to what we believe about God and what we believe about ourselves. Because we follow a Savior who ‘…being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).” We know that “…to obey is better than sacrifice… (1 Samuel 15:22).” And that obedience follows love: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).” 

“In binding love you set me free.” - Wendell Berry

Father, may our obedience follow our love. Amen.

Amen,

AB

30 April: Tuesday Refocus

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” - Romans 12:9-14

In a world that prides itself on radical individualism, perhaps there is nothing more counter-cultural than intentionally investing yourself into the community of faith - to know and be known. To serve and be served. In humility to count others as more significant than yourself. To contribute to the needs of the saints.

In a world that prides itself on the vilification of anyone who thinks differently, or mistreats us in any way - perhaps one of the most counter-cultural acts is to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. To cross the greater distance of relational divide. To bless and not to curse. To live peaceably with all people as far as it depends on you. Not to cancel people who have hurt us or abandon a relationship over a misunderstanding. Not to hurt people before they hurt us, but instead to seek the good of the other.

For followers of Jesus, when we love our enemies, what we are saying is ‘I know I once was an enemy of God, but because of Jesus, I have been completely forgiven. If God can forgive me of all my sins, how can I not offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me?’

Father, may these things be true of us by the indwelling and empowering work of your Spirit. In Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

23 April: Tuesday Refocus

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” - Romans 12:3

God has uniquely gifted and wired every follower of Christ. We are given gifts by the Holy Spirit not for selfish ambition, but for building up the body of Christ. For God’s glory, and for the good of His people and His world. Thinking of myself with sober judgment means I can celebrate the gifts of others without despairing of the gifts I perceive I do not possess. It means that I can also acknowledge the way God has gifted me without boasting in myself or belittling others.

Each of us is more than our gifts. But we are given gifts to spend selfishly but to invest selflessly.

Father, may we use the gifts you have entrusted to us for your glory and the good of your Church and your world. Amen.

Amen,

AB

16 April: Tuesday Refocus

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:1-2

In view of everything that has come before in Romans 1-11: the saving work of Christ, the power of God, God’s righteousness, our justification through faith, the reality that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, that God has united us to Christ, that we have been adopted as sons and heirs, and that there is future glory, in view of the heart, and character of God, in view of what God has done and will do, in view of the entire counsel of Scripture and God’s revelation of Himself - offer yourself as a spiritual act of worship.

In a world that on both sides of the political spectrum chants ‘my body, my choice,’ in a world that says ‘as long as you are not hurting anyone else, you get to use your body however you’d like, Scripture says, no. You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20). Scripture says, no, in view of God’s mercy offer yourself as a spiritual act of worship. Offer your body - all that you are - as an act of worship to God. Not just your ‘Christian activities,’ but your very life as a spiritual act of worship.

God may we offer all in response to all of You, in Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Amen,

AB

9 April: Tuesday Refocus

“The church - the body of Christ - is the place where God invites us to renew our loves, reorient our desires, and retrain our appetites.” - James K.A. Smith

Every person is a tangled mess of loves, desires, and appetites. At the moment of conversion, followers of Jesus have been given a new heart, and from a new heart flows new affections (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). But we will spend a lifetime for our affections to be continually transformed - this is the ongoing work of sanctification.

Through the power of God’s Word, God’s Spirit, and God’s people that I…

…am reminded of who I am, who I am not, and who I am called to be. 

…come face to face with a life in community that breaks apart my desire for self-sufficiency.

…learn to serve rather than be served.

…am both wounded and healed.

…am reminded of who God is, and what He has done.

Father, may we joyfully submit to Your work through Your people for Your glory and our good, amen.

Amen,

AB

2 April: Tuesday Refocus

"The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds... this is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in this practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him." - Dallas Willard

Missionary Frank Laubach challenged himself by intentionally dedicating hours of every day, minutes of every hour, even seconds of every minute to turn his thoughts toward the Lord. The Psalmist said: ‘I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken (Psalm 16:8).” The prophet Isaiah said: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock (Isaiah 26:3-4).”

How might our souls be shaped when our minds are given to meditate on the person and work of Christ? How might we encounter the world, others, and ourselves differently if our attention is fixed on the Lord?

Spirit, may you lift our eyes to behold Jesus in the small and significant moments of this day and every day. In Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

Good Friday

Lent is the season of bright sadness. And perhaps we feel the sadness most acutely on Good Friday. We take the bread and wine, behold the cross, read of the suffering Savior, and recognize the severity of our own sin. And still, on this side of the cross, we know that resurrection has come - and is coming - brightness - life, hope, return. So whether you gather with the people of God, or reflect silently and individually today, lean into the sadness and feel it give way to brightness.

Here are a few other Good Friday reflections:

Good Friday - 2023

Good Friday - 2022

13 February: Tuesday Refocus

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”- John 13:1-5

“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Jesus is both servant and savior. Not one or the other, but both at once. This has always been true of His identity even before he took on flesh and stepped into the world. We behold the servant savior with piercing clarity at the cross. But even in the waning hours before the cross, Jesus continues to serve His disciples - a meal, praying for them, sharing with them, and washing their feet. The One who empties himself by taking on the form of a servant performs the act of the lowliest servant - stooping to washing the feet of the cowardly and fearful, the deniers and the betrayer.

Father, on the eve of this Lenten season, may we behold the servant savior with piercing clarity. In Jesus name, amen.

Beholding,

AB