Word on the Way - Hebrews 13:8

Word on the Way is a passage sent out daily by Way.FM

Tuesday, May 25
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We've all heard that line "What a difference a day makes, twenty four little hours..." accompanied with some sweet jazz.

Yet, that's really the story of our lives. The song speaks about a movement from darkness into light; but I know we've all had our share of the reverse. This world turns and our days can change so quickly. The reality is that we live in a broken world, even if we have those few days that stand to the contrary. Actually, at my current job we fear good days; because we know that a good day is going to bring three or four bad days to follow. Maybe we're superstitious but that's the way the trend goes; and I'm all about trends (but I'm not trendy, I just like watching people's habits and repetitive movements).

There is no trend with God, He doesn't change. He may repeat Himself; but He is creative and original while constant.

Maybe a different way to look at it is through how we define ourselves over our lives. At first we're defined by our parents, then by our toys, friends, school, activities, or cars. Then we move to our jobs, our wives, our house, our dog/cat, hobbies, social circles, and yes our cars. Then we are defined by our children, their schools, their activities, etc. Then maybe its our grandchildren, retirement home, etc. (I haven't gotten that far, I'm only half down the list). If we dig deeper we see that our motivations change over time, who we are literally changes - even if its only the way others look at us. College was big for me because I could experiment with who I am, I learned a lot about who I am, but I was also changed. I feel that I've become more introverted. I hope that I've slowly become a better man.

Yet, God knows who He is and is revealing Himself to us in the scripture, in His creation, and in His relationship with us; and it does not change. He does not change. Though He may speak to you differently today as He did yesterday, He is the same. He was, is and always will be the same.

If there is sin in your life, bring it to Him and revel in His mercy. If you feel insignificant, come sit at His feet and behold His glory knowing that He gave up that glory to be with you. If you feel burned out, come rest in His arms knowing that there is nothing you can do for Him to love you. He already has, does and will forever love you. Rest here, live here, love here for God is here and He is calling you. He's been waiting, so come sit and relate to the love of your life.

Word of the Way - 1 Peter 5:7

Word on the Way is a passage sent out daily by Way.FM

Monday, May 24
1 Peter 5:7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

Let this wash over you. Taking away the burdens in your heart weighing you down.

This is Jesus. Why? Because I needed this verse. I'm sitting here with a bad case of the Mondays wondering if God will ever help me out of this bad job situation. I want to do more than add numbers together and watch them be ignored. I want to do good for the Lord and for the world, and selfishly for myself. But these are worries and cares that are beyond me. I have no real power over my destiny, my path or, a better way to put it, where God wants me.

So, here I am giving my worries and cares to God...well, I'm trying, because its hard. Giving them away means I have to relinquish my control over my life, over these cares that are burning me out. It's actually surprising that I hold onto them, because I really have no control over them. Either you have to accept that God is control or that life is random (you could argue that we have control - but I think in the end we have to answer the fundamental question: God or no God; when we answer that our belief system develops accordingly), but both leave you mostly powerless to really do anything. A random life will leave you spinning your wheels for direction or listlessly following the flow of life regardless of what the future holds. A God controlled life leaves you in the hands of God.

The verse tells us to take our cares to God. I think if you actually pictured yourself before Almighty God, you would be speechless. Your cares would be so insignificant to His glory; but the truth is God cares. Despite our insignificance, despite our sin He still cares for us. He is calling us closer. He is asking to hear our prayers. He is asking us to bring our brokenness to Him. Like Tenth Avenue North in their song "Any Other Way", God comes to us and says "I need your hurt, I need your pain; it's not love any other way". How can God love us if we don't trust Him with our needs?

See, God is not calling us to a religion of independence. He is calling us to relational dependence. I was thinking about this on the way to work; and the truth is God will always be the creator and we will always be the creation. There was a time when I always asked for strength; but I should have been asking for weakness so that I could run to Him and depend on His strength. He wants to love me and my holding back on trusting Him with my worries and cares is holding back on my receiving His love. In other words, my holding on to the control of my life is standing in between my breaking and hurting heart and His love.

But God still loves me. God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit loves me enough to care about my worries. He loved me so much He sent His son, He came down and died, He dwells in my heart.

Word on the Way - Philippians 2:3

Word on the Way is a passage sent out daily by Way.FM

Friday, May 21
Philippians 2:3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

I really struggle with pride. I am always putting myself ahead of others. I love myself more than I love others and more importantly God. I am selfish. I try to impress others, even the ones I don't think highly off. I don't love or care about them, but I want them to be in awe of me. I want to be seen as their leader, as smarter, as better, etc. I am not humble.

-God please forgive my pride. Help me to love others and think of them as better than myself. We are all created in your image, and you have said "when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me (Matt. 25:40)." God I want to love you that much. Forgive me, and strengthen me through your son to be able to work through my sins to love you beyond my pride.-

Word on the Way - Commentary

Word on the Way is a passage sent out daily by Way.FM

Thursday, May 20
Hebrews 13:16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.

The goodness in this text is self evident. Only a very heartless and selfish person would not want to make the world better. Even though we choose to do this daily. So, are we heartless and selfish?... well... yes, actually. We are very selfish. The only cure for this is Jesus. The needy are everywhere - in our churches, neighborhoods, cities, workplaces, homes, etc. We are all needy. We need Jesus, because we are sinful, selfish, broken, imperfect, etc. However you want to describe it, it's real. Most of us want to do something about the brokenness in the world; but we all forget.

What makes us not forget? Well, a daily reminder of what Jesus has done for you. A daily walk with the creator of the universe, our savior, would draw us closer to Jesus compelling us to never forget His goodness while also redeeming us in order to go out and be good, to share, and to sacrifice ourselves to our God. Don't you want to please the God who loves you so much He gave everything to love you?

Word on the Way - Commentary

Word on the Way is a passage sent out daily by Way.FM

Sometimes it is easier for me to understand the Bible by writing out my thoughts. This is part of my walk. If you read this I hope you get something out of it. Let He who created both you and me have the glory.

Wednesday, May 19
Proverbs 24:12 Don’t excuse yourself by saying, "Look, we didn’t know।" For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve.

Seriously? You mean I can't get away with that? I can't believe that we really dupe ourselves into believing we didn't know. Or worse that we have a right to do xyz. We go around hurting people because we think we're oblivious. Really?

The best excuse is "it just happened!" No one really buys it, but you have to otherwise you can't use it yourself. It's like the infamous "I don't remember" or "I forgot". We use them to take the guilt off of ourselves, but the truth is we're guilty! We are guilty because we knew what we were doing. It's almost like there are two 'Falls'. The one where Adam and Eve sinned against God is the reason why the world is broken. But then there's this other Fall. It's the one that you and I go through everyday. It's when we choose to go against what we know is right. When we say 'no' to integrity and say 'yes' to self indulgence then we Fall again. This is why the world is still broken.

We're guilty and we deserve all the punishment God can throw at us!

But He won't!

That's the Gospel! That's why Jesus came! Because you're guilty and you know it! No matter how long you spend trying to deceive yourself into thinking you're not!! God is telling you, "I know you're guilty! I know you messed up! But I don't care! Stop trying to impress me! Stop trying to not look guilty! You are! But I'm here to take the guilt away. Here! I give you my son to die in your place! Now you are free!"

Word on the Way - Commentary

Word on the Way is a passage sent out daily by Way.FM

Sometimes it is easier for me to understand the Bible by writing out my thoughts. This is part of my walk. If you read this I hope you get something out of it. Let He who created both you and me have the glory.

Tuesday, May 18
Ephesians 4:29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

Two things stick out to me with this passage: abuse and encourage

Most of the time when we hear the command to not use 'foul' language we use it as 'fodder' for the legalistic 'cannon'. We use it to back up our human list of barely attainable commands. In other words when we read the passage above we some how interpret it as 'cussing'. We add 'cussing' to the 'Don't do' list and forget the implied 'do' list and ignore the deeper human need.

But I think the Translators really did a good job here. The language is described as foul and abusive. I believe that we often times do not take the time to really think about words (and to be honest that is what the passage is getting at). The word foul is very descriptive when you start to 'picture' it. What comes to your mind when you hear foul? How about: a dirty public restroom? an overflowing trash can? manure?

How do like your language being described as a public restroom?! And I'm not talking about 'cussing'. In a lot of ways cussing is only a symptom. Its a symptom of the cancerous negativity that we spew out on our 'neighbors'.

What about abuse? What comes to mind when you hear the word abuse? A drunk husband or father? How about a drug addict who abuses his body? Abuse is when someone who has control and power neglects the responsibility of that power and uses it for evil. Do you want your words to be abusive?

See the Lord said, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples (John 13:35)." Foul language is abusive to the body of Christ, this is the opposite of love. We are all sinners and in desperate need of love. What we say is powerful and can express who we are inside. That is why Paul asks us to be encouraging. Why? Because when we mean it we are changed people. When we spend more energy on making sure that others are encouraged we will spend less energy on ourselves - on making sure we have the power. Our hearts will be changed.

See when the Gospel really enters into our daily lives we are compelled to love God for what He has done. When you love someone, you want to spend time with them. When you spend time with someone you love and respect you tend to become like them. This is what God wants. This is His 'will'. So, spend time with the Lord and you will learn to love your neighbor; because despite our sin, God is calling us into His presence and it is there that we will grow in the likeness of our Lord, absorbing His love for us. That love will compel us to go out in the world loving as He has loved us.

Story Idea

If you have a moment read this and let me know what you think:

Jim woke up at 4:30 AM creaking like an old tree in the breeze. He tasted the rancid alcohol on his tongue, left over from another night drowning his sorrows. His wife barely shifted as he pulled up his jeans and got up from the bed. He stumbled off to the kitchen to grab some cereal before he left for work. He tried to be quiet as he passed the children’s bedroom. If he woke them up then he’d catch hell from Ashley, his wife. A second shift nurse was not that angelic when sleep deprived.
Entering the kitchen he slowly stretched his muscles, hardened by daily labor. Jim used to wonder if his life could be different. He had so much going for him in high school. Now, he just did it. The cycle of life just a part of the routine that he found himself grinding out. Like a long distance runner, he just put one foot in front of the other neither remembering the beginning nor seeing the end.
He opened the fridge to grab some milk, but it was sour. He scribbled a note and added it to the collection of tidbits on the fridge door. Then he found a clean bowl and poured out some cereal. Grabbing a spoon he sat down and crunched away at the dry mix. Most days he would just stare at the report cards and family photos on the fridge door, but today his mind kept jumping back to his dream. Last night was the third night in a row of the harrowing nightmare. It wasn’t like any other dream he had before.
He stood on a bank of a river. In the middle was a boat. In the boat was his family. Even though Jim could swim, in his dream he knew it was impossible. There was a storm and waves were crashing against the shore. He told his wife it was stupid to go, but instead of turning and leaving he stood at the shore watching. Suddenly lightening struck behind him. He couldn’t turn. The storm began to grow. The winds whipped his face and the rain beat on his face but he kept staring at his family. Suddenly, a thirty foot wave rose above the small boat and swallowed it whole. Jim realized he was alone. Jim had never felt so alone. His heart ached and he tried to scream. He couldn’t. Then he felt it. He was burning. All his nerves were on fire. He had never felt such pain before, and he still felt the ache of loneliness. Then he fell back and kept falling. The horror of it all overwhelmed him. He never stopped falling and he always woke up then.
He usually shook it off and went back to sleep, but today it haunted him. He remembered the fire, the heat. He remembered the cold wind and rain beating him down. Yet, the most haunting and lasting feeling was the loneliness. He shivered, trying to shake the thought out of his head. He placed the empty bowl in the sink full of dishes and walked into the living room to retrieve a shirt. He picked up his work shirt from the floor and slung it over his shoulder as he retraced his through the bedroom to the bathroom. Five minutes later he was starting is truck and heading to work.
It was the same gray, misty morning he’d seen for the last ten years. The same train tracks and cracked roads, passing dark shapes as the rest of the town was still sleeping. He passed the Baptist church and the Mormon temple then passed the synagogue and the dollar store. His neighbor Johnny had worked at the dollar store ever since the accident at the shop where he and Jim had worked. After the law suit that Johnny didn’t want the shop shut down. Jim found a new job at a different plant, but Johnny with no right hand opened up a dollar store with his settlement money. He went to church everyday, not the Baptist church, the Catholic church on the other side of town. He always said it felt more like heaven when you’re at church with rich people. Jim always said that Johnny may have lost more than his hand in that accident.
Jim passed the gas station and drove the last five miles in peace, only passing a couple lumber trucks. The plant was a large rectangular steel structure were Jim and a few other shop workers helped assemble AC units. They were one of the few American companies left. Oddly enough a lot of the parts they used were foreign. Around the plant were a few strategically planted trees to help keep the energy costs low and so that the plant could use large industrial fans to cool the shop floor, instead of the AC units they assembled. He pulled in and parked in the same spot he had since Tom, the manager he replaced, left to work in sales. Tom was doing well, or had done well. The last Jim had heard of him, Tom had retired early after selling his own company and moving to Florida. Jim could picture Tom playing golf every morning while his wife sipped cool drinks on the beach with the other wives.
Jim felt so distant from that life, that thinking about it again brought back the dream. That feeling of loneliness crept back into his brain and seeped into his heart, turning it cold. He shook it off and climbed out of truck. He slammed the door and a couple birds flew out of the nearest tree. Jim was always the first there, and if it wasn’t for the next ten hour shift after his, he would probably be the last to leave. He had to give a lot to keep the job. When the company downsized he willingly agreed to a ten hour shift. When the company had to cut costs he agreed to less vacation. He had to miss his daughter’s birthday for the last four years, and he even worked Easter Sunday last year. Not that he minded, he didn’t like any church, let alone his brother’s church.
See his brother had done well for himself. He worked through college, where he ‘met’ God and decided to go on a mission trip. When he returned he won grants and scholarships and went to an Episcopal seminary. He had met a beautiful wife and got married. When their father was diagnosed with cancer, Jim’s brother returned home and started a new church. It had done really well. Jim’s brother had a great way of attracting his new rich friends while winning the hearts of his blue collared background. Within the last four years, his church became the largest in the area. They even helped rebuild Johnny’s home when it burned down.
Maybe that’s why he kept having the dream about lightening. Jim was a hero in many people’s eyes because he ran into the burning building to save his friend. Since then though, Jim began to loose his friend. Johnny began to go church more, and kept trying to Jim to go, but Jim would rather drink and sleep in on his one day off a week. The children would go, and sometimes Ashley would go, but Jim always slept in.
He walked slowly toward the door – the same white door that he had seen for the last ten years. The paint was beginning to flake off and the “employee entrance” sign was complete worn off. Jim knew what lay behind the door, but it didn’t help shake the feeling that he was alone. He knew that as soon as he got into the grind and saw his coworkers his feelings would vanish and he could focus on work. He liked his work. He didn’t have to think to much, it all made sense and no one really bothered too much. Every now and then, the plant manager would ask him to change this or that, but Jim made sure everything met the requirements.
He flipped the lights and grabbed his punch card. People told Jim that he must work at the only place that still used punch cards. He didn’t care. Change forced him to think about what was and what will happen. If things don’t change, then Jim didn’t have to think. He walked over to the desk, to look over the numbers and check his messaged. Another cost cutting idea was for the company to post the part projections of the month on a large white board on the wall. Messages were also handwritten. Computers were only given to those with customer contact. Jim didn’t ever speak to customers. So, any messages for Jim were handwritten and placed in his inbox. Like most days, the inbox was empty. The white board showed that the numbers were decreasing slightly; after all not many people used window units anymore.
He walked over to the coffee pot and starting making some as a couple of the guys walked in and punched in. They were laughing at a joke that someone had made outside. They walked over to Jim and all said good morning.
“What’s so funny?” asked Jim.
“Oh nothing really,” said Pete, “Juan here just had his first date last night.”
“How’d it go?” asked Jim. Shane, the plant manager, told Jim he cared to much for his workers and they would see that as a weakness, but Jim had always been kind to his workers – strict but kind.
“Ok,” said Juan blushing.
“Oh come on!” said Pete, “That’s not what you said outside! Our boy went all the way! On the first one too! Lucky little…”
Everyone laughed and Pete and Juan had a quick joke fight around the coffee station, but Juan was eyeing Jim to see what he would say next.
“So, Juan who was the lucky girl?” asked Jim.
Juan blushed and said, “Courtney.”
“Courtney, who?”
“Courtney Jasper,” Juan replied sheepishly.
“I always thought my niece was a little loose and had bad taste,” said Jim.
They all laughed and Pete pounded Juan on the back. They quickly progressed over everyone else’s weekend, but no one ever asked how Jim’s weekend was. That was the rule. They all grabbed a cup of coffee and took their respective places on the line.