Text: Genesis 32:1-32

“And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day.” –Genesis 32:24

It was the 80s. We had hair bands, parachute pants, and breakdancing. We also had Hulk Hogan! On occasion, my brother and I would turn our living room into a makeshift cage match, branding our very own version of WrestleMania. Decked in fluorescent bandanas, cheap sunglasses, and spandex tights, we were sure poised to intimidate. Pandemonium would break loose until out came the woman in the black mask, “Granny The Eliminator,” as we called her, and Grandma would clear the ring of all wannabe luchadores!

Though many consider the 80s to have been the golden age of wrestling, the very first recorded wrestling match actually took place in Genesis 32. Twenty years earlier, Jacob had stolen his brother’s birthright and cheated him out of their father’s blessing, then ran far away. Now Jacob is returning to his homeland and must face his brother who had sworn to kill him. Would Esau come out in war to exact revenge? Jacob was distressed and very afraid, and rightly so.

He didn’t have the confidence to stand before Esau because, like so many believers today, he was hindered by the guilt of the past. As Shakespeare wrote, “Conscience does make cowards of us all.”

Jacob took all this fear, guilt, and anxiety to the right place. He exuded a sincere prayer, filled with humility and faith, recounting God’s promise and seeking His divine protection. Then, having done the work of prayer, Jacob had to do the more difficult work of confrontation. Known for his effectual prayer life, George Mueller was once asked to elaborate on the most important aspect of prayer. His answer: “The 15 minutes after I have said, ‘Amen.’” The true test of the depth of our prayer will be seen in what we do after the prayer has concluded.

Jacob knows that God has promised him “good” back in the land of his kindred—but the way back to that country must go through a road called Reconciliation, a.k.a. Surrender.

In faith, he bets the house on God’s promise and boldly resolves to risk everything by continuing on to face Esau. It’s dangerous, but necessary. By crossing over the ford of Jabbok, he leaves himself no way for retreat. The way home always involves this crossing—the place of absolute surrender. Behind Jacob is the past: the lying, the manipulating, the deceiving, the stealing and the cheating. Before him is a new way of life: honest repentance, reconciliation, healing, generosity, selflessness, giving.

Jacob spends the night alone in prayer and has his own WrestleMania. That night a man wrestles with him until daybreak. This wrestling match is with none other than God Himself, possibly a Christophany (a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ). God stepped into the ring with Jacob that night because he wanted something from him; He wanted all of Jacob’s self-reliance, his pride, and his carnal scheming. He was there to take it by force if necessary. Jacob wanted God’s blessing. But before he could get it, he had to be delivered from his own self-will and self-reliance. As the Lord wore him down, conquering him little by little, Jacob clung to Him and said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.”

After prevailing with God that night, the Lord changed Jacob’s name to Israel. The name “Jacob” meant “Grasper,” and he was no longer to live that way, being shrewd or sneaky enough to conquer life on his own. He was to live from a whole new identity, “Israel”—signifying the rule and reign of God over his life.

What started out as a scary confrontation with the past, ended up being an ageless portrait of redemption and reconciliation. Jacob is reunited with Esau in a most gracious, merciful fashion. God mended a dysfunctional situation and restored a broken family that day, neither of which would be realized without humility, faithful obedience (necessary risk taking), and the struggle to surrender the past to God.

Like Jacob, God will continue to wear us down until we are stripped of all self-sufficiency and come to that place of total surrender. Yet it is in this place of His dominion, and our white flags raised, that we truly overcome the past and live with a freedom like no other.

Whatever you may be wrestling with today, true spiritual victory always goes through the place called surrender. Think about that as you seek to abide in Him this week.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, you have promised good to me. I also understand that the blessing on the other side will necessitate my willingness to walk in obedience even when it is uncomfortable, painful, or risky. In those times of tension, may I cling to you and always seek to surrender my will in exchange for your dominion over my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Jacob didn’t have the confidence to stand before Esau because, like so many people today, he was hindered by the guilt of the past. Tweet this

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. If you experienced the 80s, what are some things you remember most?
2. When was the last time you and God wrestled about something?
3. Why do you think reconciliation was such a big deal to God in Genesis 32, and in our lives today?
4. Obedience to God often makes us vulnerable. When have you ever experienced this firsthand?
5. What is a struggle you have right now that needs to be surrendered to God?

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post Wrestling With God: Jacob the Luchador appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

Text: Matthew 14:22-32

He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. Matthew 14:29

Stephanie is typically the daredevil in our family. She exemplifies the “go big or go home” persona. But there was a time when I saw her paralyzed with fear. When she was 8-years old, our family watched Shark Week and got inspired to go swimming with the sharks. Though the actual shark part never really materialized, we did get invited to go on a private VIP tour to swim with manatees off the Gulf Coast of Florida.

We boated out to the site and were instantly surrounded by these huge creatures drifting all around the boat. Our friend, a professional manatee guide, plunged in and began snorkeling with these friendly “sea cows.” I soon followed and expected Steph to jump right in behind me. When I turned around, she stood frozen on the deck, intimidated by these huge water creatures. I gently urged her to get in but she wouldn’t budge. The rest of the family got in as our guide began shooting video and pictures of this epic adventure with an underwater camera.

This was a defining moment for our little girl. I made my daughter this promise: “Honey, I can’t promise you that in life it will always be safe to jump… but I can tell you this, if you don’t jump, you will be watching this video later and you will regret not being in the picture.” That’s all it took for my little 8-year old adventurist to overcome her gripping fear and jump into the deep.

Splash! She was all-in.

Once my daughter got the revelation that her regrets of inaction would hurt more than any risk taken that day, she left her fear in the boat and jumped in the water. She got a hold of the reality that if she played it “safe,” she would regret it for a long time.

Stephanie danced beautifully with the manatees that day. It was a dance of courage. Fitting enough, we took that underwater video footage and later dubbed it to Lee Ann Womack’s song, I Hope You Dance, who artistically reminds us, “And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance.” I believe it will be an heirloom in our family for a long time.

I am convinced that at the end of our years it will be regrets of inaction that far outweigh the regrets of action in our lives. In other words, we will be more regretful over not being in the picture at all (playing it safe) because we were afraid to jump, rather than being in the picture, looking vulnerable at times—even afraid—or feeling like a failure after we have jumped. The regrets of not jumping will haunt us more than anything else.

Getting Out of the Boat

This is the dilemma for Peter in Matthew 14. Imagine what it must’ve felt like for this passionate Christ-follower, clinching the frazzled ropes on the edge of the boat while Jesus stands majestically on the crest of the waves, defiant of the storm’s threat. He beckons Peter to take a bold step of faith and walk on the water with Him. Peter looks around cautiously. No one else is getting out of the boat. It doesn’t make sense to the seasoned fisherman. Humans aren’t supposed to walk on water. As he continues to pan his surroundings and the imminent threat of danger, he makes eye contact with Jesus. In that moment, faith overrides his fears. He steps out of the boat.

Peter takes that first step and all of a sudden it feels as if someone else is doing the rest. Peter is now in the picture. He is dancing with the impossible. He is walking on water. That’s what faith can do. Yes, Peter takes his eyes off of Jesus momentarily and is distracted by the storm, but only to fall into the arms of grace. Yet he is unsinkable because his Master Choreographer holds his hand. Peter need never fear getting out of the boat again. He follows the One who even the winds and the waves obey. Peter would never have to live to regret the day he failed to follow Jesus into the deep. On the contrary, he would know what it’s like to do the unbelievable, and furthermore, to know intimately what it’s like to fall into the arms of grace when you fail. But regrets of inaction would have no torment over him.

“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever,” said Thomas Aquinas. Our goal is not to preserve our own safety, it’s to learn how to trust and follow Jesus anywhere, which inevitably will take us into unchartered territory at times. It will involve storms. It will involve waves. We will be vulnerable. We may even sink momentarily. We may lose focus temporarily. But we must never let fear reduce our lives to being a mere boat-preserver. We exist to risk boldly for the glory of God out in the deep, rather than play it safe in the port.

Where will your faith have no borders this week? Think about that as you seek to follow Jesus boldly.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, remind us that we don’t exist to play it safe. We exist to risk boldly for your kingdom glory. Empower us with the Holy Spirit to take necessary steps of faith that seek your glory rather than retreating into a religious harbor of self-preservation. Grant us the courage to do your will, especially when it calls us to a place of risk and vulnerability. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Never let fear reduce your life to the role of a boat-preserver when you’ve been called to walk on water. Get out of the boat! Tweet this

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. What is the most frightening experience you’ve ever had?
2. Have you ever felt “paralyzed” by fear?
3. In what seasons of life have you felt distracted from Jesus?
4. When have you stepped out in faith and risked vulnerably for God’s glory?
5. Where do you need to risk vulnerably for the glory of God this week?

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post Don’t Miss The Dance appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

Text: Matthew 7:7-11

“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11 ESV)

In December of 2000, Cindy and I wrapped up two positive EPT tests and gave them to our parents as Christmas gifts. Seeing the look on their faces as they unwrapped these unconventional presents made my heart dance for joy. They were going to be new grandparents. I was going to be a rookie dad. This awesome reality was still setting in.

I loved Stephanie before she was born. Everything in our house was rearranged to serve the needs of this new main attraction in our lives. Preparations were made to accommodate her safety, her physical needs, her play areas, and her exploratory pursuits. The day she was born I held her teeny form next to my side, amazed at the wonder of God’s design in this precious little 8-pound creation. We videotaped her every move and snapped endless photos of her royal cuteness. I found myself singing new songs to the rhapsodic tunes of Miss Patty Cake and VeggieTales. I was a proud new daddy. I think the bliss of looking into those innocent eyes of my own offspring coupled with the deep wound my biological father left, fueled me to be the best father I could possibly be.

Looking back over the years of fathering three children, I realize I couldn’t have loved my children any more deeply. Did I make a lot of mistakes? Yes. Could I have done some things better? Absolutely. Would I do some things differently if I could go back and hit the reset button? Sure. But could I have loved my children any more? Not in a million years.

A Perfect Heavenly Father

As much as I have loved my children, it has flowed out of an imperfect nature. Yet our heavenly Father loves us from a perfect nature. Jesus said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”

Jesus didn’t use this as an opportunity to compare our earthly Fathers to our heavenly Father; he used it as a stark contrast—a contrast in natures. No matter how loving we are as earthly fathers, we still fall short due to a sinful nature. God’s nature is altogether different. It is perfect and flawless.

Our heavenly Father arranged the cosmos long before we were ever born to accommodate our most intricate needs. He predetermined the times you would live in and the places where you would live (Acts 17:26). God’s eyes saw you when you were formless… all the days of your life were ordained and written in His book before you were ever graced to see a sunrise (Psalm 139:16). God never makes a mistake. He is not only a master planner; our Creator is the perfect Father.

Whether our earthly fathers have been nurturing or negligent, caring or calloused, tender or abusive, engaged or disengaged, present or distant, labeled as good or bad, Jesus would have us to know that our heavenly Father is different from all of them. He is perfect. God loves us unconditionally, eternally, and immutably, from a holy and unfailing nature. Though His love cannot be fathomed, His heart can always be trusted. He is a good, good Father. And no matter what your relationship may be with your earthly father, the nature of that human relationship will always fall short of the wholeness of God’s fatherhood in our lives.

Perhaps this is why an old king named David, after years of Godly heroics fused together with many regretful mistakes, charged his son Solomon to, “Know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind” (1 Chronicles 28:9). In other words, get to know the God of your ancestors intimately—learn His nature and worship Him with a whole heart.

May all the highs and lows of fatherhood, the successes and failures of being a daddy, remind us that there is only ONE perfect Father. There is none to whom we can compare Him. He is always the contrast. His ways are holy and He alone is to be worshiped. Think about that as you seek to abide in your ‘Abba Father’ this week.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to realize that you chose me before the foundations of the world to live in a relationship with you. You are a perfect Father with a master plan. Your nature is without comparison. You are holy and set apart from all of your creation. Help me to know your love more intimately, to serve you more willingly, to approach you more boldly, to ask more confidently, and to worship you more fully. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

He is a good and perfect Father. There is none to whom we can compare Him. He is always the contrast, meant to be worshiped. Tweet this

Questions for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. What are some of your fondest childhood memories of your father? (If you didn’t have a father, was there a father figure you looked up to?)
2. What motivates parents to want to provide for their children?
3. According to Matthew 7:11, what is true about the character of even the best human parent? What is the likelihood of God giving His praying children what they need?
4. Even when our earthly parents are the most loving and nurturing, in what ways can we be encouraged by God’s nature being a stark contrast to theirs?
5. What will you ASK your perfect heavenly Father for this week?

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post You’re a Good Good Father appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

Text: Exodus 33:1-23

Without ______________, life would be a mistake.

How would you fill in this blank? I think our teenage daughter would readily borrow a quote from Friedrich Nietzsche, who said, “Without music, life would be a mistake.” My youngest daughter might say, “Without horses, life would be a mistake.” My wife and my son might say, “Without hot sauce, life would be a mistake.”

But Moses would probably say, “Without God’s presence, life would be a mistake.”

There is an expressive story behind Big Daddy Weave’s hit song Audience of One, which the band claims has a greater response live than any other song they do.

It was in the middle of a concert that, Mike Weaver, lead singer and lyricist for the band, became frustrated. It seems that Weaver felt tension between putting on a great worship concert and actually worshiping God Himself. “I felt like saying, ‘I give up!’ That’s how ‘Audience of One’ came about—from a heart motive. The desire to be worshipers ourselves. Because worship is ultimately about you and God—everything else is a byproduct.”

As Weaver constructed the tune, another thought practically blindsided him: We often call to God in distress, but we rarely cry out for His presence. That led to Weaver’s favorite verse in the song:

Longing only to know you
Seeking your face
And not only your hand.

Success Without God’s Presence is a Mistake

In Exodus 33, Moses resolved that he wasn’t going to take one step forward apart from God’s manifest presence. At this point in Israel’s passage through the wilderness, God is pretty ticked off with His chosen people. Less than forty days after making a promise to God to keep the Law, which He gave them at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites have already backslidden. They have fallen into shameful idolatry by worshiping a golden calf, which Aaron had sculpted at their urging (Exodus 32:1-6). Angered by their reveling and immorality, God threatens to wipe the entire nation out so He can replace it with a new nation from the offspring of Moses (Exodus 32:7-10). But Moses intercedes for the people and begs God of His mercy.

The Lord relents but warns that a future day of reckoning would still come for this generation (Exodus 32:11-14, 30-35). Nevertheless, God would fulfill His covenant to give Israel their Promised Land. However, He would only send His angel as a surrogate, yet withhold His manifest presence (Exodus 33:1-3).

The people mourned.

For Moses, the promise of success alone wasn’t enough. The assurance of victory, in and of itself, was meaningless. I think that a good many believers today would be content without the manifest presence of God if only they were promised success in their business, fruitfulness in their ambitions, or prosperity in their labors. But not Moses. Not for a man who knew the delight of speaking with God face to face, as a man speaks to his friend (Exodus 33:11). Not for a man who knew friendship with God.

Moses was convinced that without God’s presence in his life, the whole journey would be a waste, even if you did end up in a land flowing with milk and honey. Success apart from the intimacy of God’s friendship is always a mistake. That’s what drove Moses to plead with God further. He says, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here” (Exodus 33:15 ESV). Moses is saying, “Lord, if your presence is not with me, then I’m not going anywhere. I’d rather die here in the wilderness than go on without you. I won’t take a single step unless I’m assured you’re with me!”

Entering the Promised Land without the Lord’s presence would still be a huge accomplishment for the fame of God, yet at the expense of losing friendship with God. Moses wouldn’t accept that regardless of what it did for his résumé.

The Lord responded to Moses by saying, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” (Exodus 33:17 ESV)

What a picture of true friendship with God!

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones noted:

“We may have been Christians for many years, but have we ever really longed for some person, direct knowledge and experience of God? Oh, I know, we pray for causes, we pray for the Church, we pray for missionaries, we pray for our own efforts that we organize, yes, but that is not what I am concerned about. We all ask for personal blessings, but how much do we know of this desire for God himself? That is what Moses asked for: ‘Show me thy glory. Take me yet a step nearer.’”

The Psalmist declared, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11 ESV)

His presence is all we need.

As we continue on in our journey of faith, may we, in the likeness of Moses, desire intimate friendship with God above anything that we could ever accomplish for God. Think about that as you abide in Him this week.

Success without God’s presence is a mistake, even if we do end up in a land flowing with milk and honey. (Exodus 33)
Tweet this

In the words of Bid Daddy Weave, we echo our prayer:

To my audience of one
You are Father, and You are Son
As Your spirit flows free
Let it find within me
A heart that beats to praise You

And now just to know You more
Has become my great reward
To see Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
I only desire to be Yours
Lord, Yours alone

Amen.

For further study: John 14:16-26, Jeremiah 29:13, Psalm 145:18, Revelation 3:20

Question for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. How would you define friendship? How about friendship with God?
2. When have your desires for God’s blessings been stronger than your desire for God Himself?
3. When have you ever prayed a prayer like that of Moses, that if God’s presence didn’t go with you, you wouldn’t go? What did that look like in your life?
4. What can you do this week to cultivate friendship with God over mere activity for God?

The post Desiring Friendship with God Above Accomplishment for God appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

They said it was physically impossible. Unconquerable.

In March of 1953, it was the last frontier in the known world. No human being had ever set foot on the peak of Mount Everest, and many of the world’s most sophisticated scientists and experienced mountaineers believed it to be impossible. In previous years, there had been thirteen documented expeditions—large, well-funded teams comprised of the most skilled climbers on the planet, making their push towards the one part of the world that man had yet to stand upon.

Every attempt had been met with epic failure. Many men perished, buried deep in frozen blocks of ice on the mountain. Yet one New Zealand mountaineer was determined to reach the summit.

Sir Edmund Hillary eventually became the first person to conquer Mt. Everest, and was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the 20th century. What many people tend to overlook is that Hillary did not make it to the top of Everest the first time he tried. The first time was a complete failure. His team encountered one setback after another, and in the process more than half his climbing party died. He experienced disappointment after disappointment.

Nonetheless, the British Parliament decided to honor him with an award. When he entered the chamber to receive his award, the people gave him a standing ovation for daring to attempt such a risky climb. When the applauses subdued, Hillary turned his back to the audience, stared intently at the picture and said, “Mt. Everest, you have defeated me once and you might defeat me again. But I’m coming back again and again, and I’m going to win because you are as big as you are ever going to get… but I’m still growing. You can’t get any bigger, Mt. Everest, but I can.”

This is the same man who said, “It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.” That attitude is a game-changer!

Jesus gave his followers some instructions about confronting mountains:

And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:22-25 ESV)

Moving a mountain was a metaphor in Jewish literature for doing what was seemingly impossible (Isaiah 40:4; 49:11; 54:10; Matthew 21:21–22). Those who believe in God can have confidence that He will accomplish even the impossible, according to His sovereign will.

Jesus didn’t say to go around the mountain. He didn’t say run from the mountain. He said to speak to the mountain. Of course, speaking to our mountains doesn’t imply that we try to manipulate God into doing what we want through impressive words or fall subject to a distorted “name-it-claim-it” theology; it simply means that we make an intentional confession of our faith by planting God’s Word deep in our hearts, and letting our words reflect that faith.

Speaking to mountains might sound crazy but if your faith isn’t strong enough to move your mouth, then it isn’t strong enough to move your mountain.

If your faith isn’t strong enough to move your mouth, it isn’t strong enough to move your mountain.
Tweet this

Maybe your mountain is a financial crisis or a work-related challenge. Maybe it’s a health issue or an emotional battle going on in your heart. Maybe a mountain has come between you and your spouse, or you and your children. It might be shame over a failure that is keeping you from getting back up again. A mountain can be anything that is standing between you and absolute surrender to God in every area of your life right now. It can represent anything that causes you to think less of God’s sovereignty, or causes you to shrink back in your trust that God can do the impossible.

Whatever mountain you may be facing right now, don’t be afraid to speak to it. Serve that mountain notice—that you won’t be intimidated by it, that your God is bigger than the mountain, that your faith will not shrink back. Tell that mountain that it won’t rob God of His glory in your life, that you are going to keep growing, keep getting stronger, keep believing, and keep coming back to face it with boldness and dependency in Christ. Sometimes the strongest words we can speak that have the capability to move mountains are “I forgive you” (Mark 11:25).

Sometimes the strongest words we can speak that have the capability to move mountains are ‘I forgive you’ (Mark 11:22-25).
Tweet this

It’s God’s business to move the mountains in our lives. It’s our job to let our faith move our mouth.

Think about that as you abide in Him this week.

For further study: Mark 11:20-26, Matthew 17:20, James 3:1-12, Proverbs 12:14, Hebrews 10:23

Question for Reflection and/or Family Discussion:

1. How would you describe the greatest resolve in your life (what you are most determined to accomplish or become)?
2. What do you think of in your life when you hear Sir Edmund Hillary’s words: It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves?
3. What are some mountains you and your family are facing right now?
4. In what way did Jesus correlate forgiveness and unforgiveness with the effectiveness of our prayer life (Mark 11:22-25)?
5. If you were to measure your speech this past week, did your words and conversations speak more to the size of your mountains or more to the size of your God? This coming week, what disciplines can you put into practice that will attest more of the latter?

The post If Faith Can’t Move Your Mouth, It Won’t Move Your Mountain appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

“I knew it. I knowed I’d made a good choice [in] my best friend” (for when you and your BFF are having a genuine heart-to-heart).

“Whatever you do, do not eat the free pistachio ice cream” (for when your friend has too much wasabi on their plate at the Asian buffet).

“Boy, I’m pretty good at this lawyerin’ stuff” (for when you think you just won the argument with your spouse).

Mater also has a way of bringing us face to face with the restorative nature of embracing our scars.

We see this in the Cars 2 movie when Mater meets Holley Shiftwell. Holley feels it’s her responsibility to fix Mater’s dents. But Mater is startled. “Oh, for a second there I thought you was trying to fix my dents,” said Mater. “Yes, I was,” replied Holley Shiftwell. “Well then, no thank you,” says Mater. “I don’t get them dents buffed, pulled, filled or painted by nobody. They way too valuable.” “Your dents are valuable? Really?” Holley Shiftwell is puzzled. “I come by each one of ’em with my best friend Lightning McQueen,” the tarnished ambassador of Radiator Springs proudly admits. “I don’t fix these. I wanna remember these dents forever.”

Sometimes Mater is a few pancakes short of a stack. He is a little naïve and occasionally embarrassing to his best friend, Lightning McQueen, but one thing is for sure: He’s very comfortable in his own rust.

We can learn a little somethin’ from our pal, Mater: Our dents are valuable.

Every dent we have can bear the beauty of grace and redemption. For some it’s the scar of a broken relationship or the shame of a past failure. Some dents come in the traumatic form of grief over the loss of a loved one. Many experience dents and scars from ill-advised decisions that happened during immature seasons of life. We get our dents during good times and bad—sometimes for reasons beyond our control and other times for behaviors that were well within our control. But the good news is this: no matter how we got our dents, we can come to embrace every one of them as a valuable and permanent stain in which God’s faithfulness and redemption met us in our brokenness.

Our scars speak of God’s steadfast and unconditional love (Romans 5:6-8). Our dents prove that God is gracious to love us beyond our failures and brokenness (Psalm 34:18), that He never abandoned us in our pain (Psalm 94:14), and that He is faithful to prune us through every hardship and “establish” us through that which we have suffered (1 Peter 5:10).

Paul reminds us that God causes us to become redemptive agents of comfort and healing to others through our sufferings and scars: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Jesus is not in the least bit intimidated by our brokenness, our failures, or our scars. He doesn’t just look beyond our dents, he redemptively sees through them and promises us a faithful future. Have you come to make peace with your dents? They can be the place where God demonstrates his greatest strength through your life, if you let him (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

Value your dents and get comfortable with your rusty spots. Thank God for them often… they are the spots where God’s grace shines most vividly in your life.

Think about that as you abide in Him this week.

Learn to value your dents. Every ONE of them bears the beauty of grace and redemption.

Question for Reflection:

1. What do you find difficult, awkward, or embarrassing about being you?
2. In what ways have you seen God work through brokenness in your life?
3. What are some things you regret from your past that God may long to use to comfort others in the future?
4. Paul learned to boast in his weaknesses so that the “power” of Christ would be demonstrated through them (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). What might that look like for you this week?
5. How can you develop a practice of seeing your dents and scars more through the lens of God’s redeeming grace rather than the lens of lingering regret?

The post Lessons From Tow Mater: Learn to Value Your Dents appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

There was a young Taiwanese man who was determined to win the heart of a girl who didn’t want much to do with him, so he began writing her love letters. Every day he wrote a letter and mailed it to her. “I love you,” he said in his letters. “Marry me.” His persistence lasted for over two years as he sent her some 700 letters in all. Finally, the young lady had the audacity to marry another person. She wound up marrying the postman.

It’s often said that love isn’t something you find, love is something that finds you. That’s the overarching message throughout God’s love letter to us—the Holy Bible. In the Old Testament, God chose a people (Israel) to be the object of His affection so that He could display His splendor and glory through them (Deuteronomy 7:6-8, Isaiah 49:3). The problem was, they didn’t always reciprocate that affection. Yet God demonstrated His covenantal faithfulness to them despite all of their rebellion. He pursued them even when they didn’t want to be pursued.

Scripture reminds us that we love because God first loved us (1 John 4:19). Paul was convinced that God proves His love for us even when we are lost in sin (Romans 5:8). There is nothing you could ever do to make God love you less, and there is nothing you could ever do to make God love you more. His love for us is steadfast, unconditional, and unrelenting—it’s perfect. Or as I like to say in the German tongue: Die Liebe Gottes ist makellos!

God’s love is stronger than your depression. It’s greater than your anxiety. It drives out fear (1 John 4:18). It heals our wounds, redeems our failures, and transforms our lives. God’s timeless love letter assures us that even when friends and family forsake us, God will take us in (Psalm 27:10). He will never leave us nor forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). His love can never be exhausted (Jeremiah 31:3). This same love that bore the punishment for our sins on the cross (Romans 6:23) keeps no record of our wrongs (Psalm 103:12, Romans 4:7, 1 Corinthians 13:5). This love will scale the highest mountain, it will descend into the lowest pit, it will storm the thickest darkness, and it will cross the deepest sea to ensure that we are never, ever left alone in this world.

God’s love letter also commands us to love one another: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” (1 John 4:7-12 ESV)

John the Apostle wants us to take heed that this is a love worth reciprocating. The only reasonable response to God’s unfailing love for us is that we should love God in return, and we should love one another in this world. If we do this, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Mother Teresa once said, “I’m a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world.”

Think about that as you abide in Him today.

The only reasonable response to God’s unfailing love for us is to love God in return, and love one another in this world. When we do this, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

Questions for Reflection:

1. When have you ever felt outside the realm of God’s love? What made you feel that way?
2. Have you ever felt like you were trying to earn God’s love? In what ways can you rest in God’s unconditional love this week?
3. Are you trusting in God’s perfect love to drive out fear in your life?
4. To whom is God sending you to this week as an expression of His relentless love and radical kindness?

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post The Most Remarkable Love Letter… EVER! appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

In Luke 18:1-8, Jesus told his disciples a story to teach them that they should pray and never give up.

It’s called the parable of the persistent widow. Here Jesus paints a picture of an unjust judge being worn out by the incessant pleading of the doggedly determined widow, for justice over her adversary.

The wording used to describe the widow’s importunity, “she is wearing me out,” is a boxing terminology. Literally, it expresses the nature of a boxer striking his opponent and rendering him bruised. For Luke, it seemed to be a fitting metaphor to bring imagery from the arena of sport to everyday common life, as did Paul (1 Corinthians 9:27).

We talk of fighters being hard hitters or throwing knockout punches. What is being described here is a continuous flurry of blows, each of which is short of a knockout blow, while their accumulative effect paints a picture of the man being so “bruised” that he is glad to give in to any request.

Praying hard is going twelve rounds with God, much like Jacob wrestling with the angel well into the night (Genesis 32:22-32). As Mark Batterson says, “A heavyweight prayer bout with God Almighty can be excruciating and exhausting, but that is how the greatest prayer victories are won.”

The judge in this story knew the woman would keep beating on his chambers until the day she died if she didn’t get justice, and it wore him out. Her unrelenting persistence was the only difference between justice and injustice.

It’s important to remember that the judge in this story isn’t a comparison to God, but a contrast. The judge is unjust, God is perfectly just. The judge is bothered by the woman’s continual coming, God craves our communion with Him. The judge could’ve cared less if the woman had deceased. Yet God is so intimately connected with us that He numbers the very hairs on our head (Luke 12:7). He longs for us to pray without growing weary. As a perfect Father, He longs to give good gifts to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:11).

The relevant question here is, how is your prayer stamina? How are you holding up in the prayer closet? Have you grown weary or are you sparring with God in consistent and healthy ways? Remember that prayer is not a means of manipulating God or coercing Him to do what we want. It is a wrestling process of recognizing God’s power and plan for our lives. God is the perfect sparring partner. As we lean into Him not only for the outcome of our requests, but for revelation into the process as well, we find the stamina to keep coming to the Lord in prayer, trusting in His all-sufficient grace and wisdom to care for us.

In regards to our energy and persistence in prayer, will God find faith? (Luke 18:8)

Question for Reflection:

1. Take an honest assessment of your prayer life. What do you see?
2. Have you become weary about praying over a specific issue in your life? Perhaps God wants you to spar with Him about trusting in His process.
3. How can you become more consistent and persistent in prayer without trying to dictate how God should answer?
4. Is God finding faith in your life? If not, what needs to happen for it to be reborn?

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post Going 12 Heavyweight Rounds With God appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

In 1924, “Goose” Goslin established himself as one of the top run producers in Major League Baseball. He also helped his team, the Washington Senators, get to the World Series in back-to-back seasons and win their first world championship.

A story is told that during one of those World Series games, a major blunder took place. The score was tied late in the game and Goslin was at the plate with two outs. He hit a deep fly ball that hit the top of the outfield wall and bounced back into the field of play. The ball danced around the outfield a bit as Goslin rounded the bases in pursuit of an inside the park homerun. The fans launched out of their seats. All eyes were fastened on home plate as the shortstop took the cutoff from left center, rotated and fired the ball to the catcher. Goslin slid into home whipping up a cloud of dust, well before the tag as the plate umpire called him safe.

The crowd became delirious. But the hysteria of the fans was shockingly interrupted when the first base umpire came charging in declaring that Goslin had missed first base, and thereby ruled him out.

It is told that a reporter grabbed Goslin after the game and said, “Goose, didn’t you know you had missed first base?” Goslin reportedly said, “I knew, but I didn’t think anyone else did.”

Missing first base doesn’t just happen on the baseball field, it happens in life too.

The Bible tells the story of a man who had utterly missed first base in his religious life. His name is Nicodemus, a legend in his own time. He was a deeply religious man, educated, powerful, wealthy, famous, and influential. Nicodemus was a Pharisee.

The Pharisees were a very strict sect of religious people holding dogmatic and legalistic views about God. Their rigid belief system was consistent with the Old Testament law. They believed in God’s sovereignty. They believed in the resurrection of the dead and in a spiritual afterlife. They believed in the existence of angels and demons. Yet they were in constant conflict with Jesus. Their smug “holier-than-thou” pretentions to moral superiority and self-righteousness often clashed with Jesus, the very Son of the living God.

Isn’t it ironic that some of the people who are so rigid in their beliefs about God can sometimes be the ones furthest from God? From the Pharisees we learn that it’s not all that uncommon for folks to hold strict views about God while being in conflict with God at the same time.

As a Pharisee, Nicodemus had the finest theological education and most prominent religious training of his time, yet he was so very far from God. He had religion, but no relationship with God. He was empty. He was searching. So in John 3 he comes to Jesus in search for some spiritual answers. But he does it at nighttime. Wanting to uphold his image and reputation of being a religious man who had it all together, he didn’t want the embarrassment of anyone thinking otherwise, so he came to Jesus while the rest of the world slept.

But let’s give Nicodemus credit. At least he came. He humbled himself. At least he dropped his defenses a little bit, let go of the masquerade long enough, and opened his heart vulnerably to consider that maybe he didn’t know it all—that there was still something missing in his life. He was basically saying to Jesus, “I recognize that You are the real deal (the Son of God) and there is a distinct possibility that I am missing God here.”

Jesus immediately cuts to the chase and explains a deeper spiritual reality that Nicodemus had been missing: “You must be born again” (John 3:3). Sadly, the phrase born again has been pirated and distorted of its meaning in our generation but it essentially means to be born from above, to experience a spiritual rebirth, an inward change of heart.

It takes humility to admit that maybe we don’t have it all together. It takes a great deal of courage to let down our religious facades and recognize that knowing religious truths and attending worship services don’t always mean that we are walking with God. Nicodemus’ life was filled with routine religious activity, but void of genuine fellowship with God. He was running the bases of moral legalism though he had never touched the first base of being born from above.

Never assume that activity for God is tantamount to knowing God. We can be vigorously running the bases of moralism and legalism while having missed first base altogether. Pharisaism can creep into our lives very subtly. It’s our spiritual responsibility to check ourselves routinely and ensure that our religious activity itself never becomes a surrogate of having genuine fellowship with God.

Think about that as you Abide in Him this week.

Never assume that activity for God is tantamount to knowing God. From the Pharisees we learn that it’s not all that uncommon for folks to hold strict views about God while being in conflict with God at the same time.

Questions for Reflection:

1. When would you say you were born again?
2. When have you ever felt like religious activity was taking the place of a personal relationship with God in your life?
3. Pharisaism can be a subtle dissentient to God’s grace flourishing in our lives. How can you detect it in your life?
4. Like Nicodemus, where can humility lead you into a deeper intimacy with Jesus this week?

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post Religion Can Sometimes Keep Us From Knowing God appeared first on Jimmy Larche.

I like to tell people that my wife and I don’t argue; we just have very intense fellowship sometimes!

When we were newlyweds, I learned that no matter how intensely we “fellowshipped” or how deeply I may have offended her, there was always a remedy that would fix things and bring us back together. It’s called frozen yogurt date. No matter how snippy Mr. Grumpy acted, he could always rely on this sweet delectable to remunerate the wrongs done and reconcile the relationship.

Yet on one occasion, after inviting my young bride on a frozen yogurt date to iron out an argument, I walked into the frozen yogurt shop only to realize that I had left my wallet at home. Oops. But what happened next spoke volumes about the virtue of my wife and it also serves as a vivid picture of the grace and mercy of our God. Opening up her purse, Cindy said, “Jimmy, you may have been wrong back there, but I got this one.” Then she pulled out her wallet and paid for the treat that would consequently sweeten up any bland spots in our marriage.

What my wife did in that frozen yogurt shop is what the Bible refers to as “atonement,” or “propitiation.” The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement, or satisfaction, specifically towards God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to them.

The Bible says in 1 John 2:1-2: “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” What’s significant about this kind of sacrifice or atonement is that the one who has been offended or violated, is also the one making the sacrifice to bring restitution and reconciliation to the relationship.

Sin often harms another person, but, ultimately, all sin is against God. We see many references in the Bible of people admitting, “I have sinned against God” (Exodus 10:16; Joshua 7:20; Judges 10:10). Sin is the intentional or unintentional act of violating God’s will. Sin can also be viewed as any thought or action that endangers the ideal relationship between an individual and God, or as any diversion from the perceived ideal order for human living. To sin has been defined as “to miss the mark.”

There are two basic ways we sin: either by commission or omission. A sin of commission is a sin we take action to commit, whether in thought, word, or deed. Sins of omission are those in which we knew we should have done something good, but refused (James 4:17). All sin, regardless of its root, is offensive to a holy God.

We can never do enough good to appease God’s wrath toward the sin in our lives. All of us fall short (Romans 3:23). But this is where Jesus comes in. God knew that we were spiritually bankrupt and incapable to remedy our own sins, so He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our forgiveness and our atonement. He is the propitiation for our sins. He is also our defender—an “advocate” who is seated at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us (Ephesians 1:19-21, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 10:12).

A human defense lawyer argues for the innocence of his client. But our Advocate, Jesus Christ, admits our guilt—and then enters His plea on our behalf, as the one who has made an atoning sacrifice for our sinful guilt.

Oswald Chambers admonished us with these words: “Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. To forgive sin, while remaining a holy God, this price had to be paid. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement. The revealed truth of God is that without the atonement He cannot forgive—He would contradict His nature if He did. The only way we can be forgiven is by being brought back to God through the atonement of the Cross.”

An old hymn says it best:

He paid a debt He did not owe
I owed a debt I could not pay
I needed someone to wash my sins away
And now I sing a brand new song
Amazing Grace

May you boast in His righteousness alone as the all-sufficient propitiation for your sins, and may this amazing grace bring you great peace as you abide in Him today.

Forgiveness is the divine miracle of grace. The cost to God was the Cross of Christ. Never accept a view of the fatherhood of God if it blots out the atonement.

Subscribe to “Abiding In Him” and get the latest devotional in your Inbox once a week.

The post Frozen Yogurt and Amazing Grace | Devotion appeared first on Jimmy Larche.