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- Written by: Don Goulding
Jesus replied, “You say that I am a king. For this reason I was born, and for this reason I came into the world - to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)
I woke and heard large molars crunching food on the other side of the nylon tent. I was nervous about our first camping trip in Africa, and sounds grew ominous in the black of night. Everything was on the menu for something else.
By morning light, the spore (nice word for poo), confirmed our nocturnal visitor was only a vegetarian eland. I was relieved that nothing had been hungry enough to eat sour, old white guy.
Among humans there are differences in our appetite for truth. Some only want truth when it brings personal gain. Others crave truth no matter the cost to temporal self. We range from animalistic snackers to Spirit hungry gorgers.
In the Gospels, Jesus speaks shocking truths that I often water down with my interpretations. I take “lose your life,” and “turn the other cheek,” and make them into irrelevant metaphors. Read as literal commands, they’re too potent for my delicate palate.
Jesus is the embodiment of truth. He not only speaks absolute truth, but he also carries my falsehood to his cross. Thus, he encourages my desire for more unvarnished reality. I want to feast in the Bible, and swallow its truth into who I am.
Prayer: King Jesus, make me a truth eater.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
The fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the wild beasts, all the things that creep on the ground, and all people who live on the face of the earth will shake at my presence. The mountains will topple, the cliffs will fall, and every wall will fall to the ground. (Ezekiel 38:20)
For a while, Dani and I lived in the California foothills, on top of 370 miles of abandoned gold mines. In the neighboring town of Alta, a thirty-two-year-old schoolteacher plunged to his death when a sinkhole opened beneath his living room. Imagine sitting in front of the TV when the world groans, then falls away.
I realize that will be my destiny too. According to Scripture, the world will fall away for every human, then we will face God. We need to prepare for that shock. It’s not a decision that can be postponed until we’re tumbling through the air.
Some rely on an insurance policy to save them when the floor drops out. Years ago they prayed to receive Christ, but nothing in their life attests to that decision. Maybe their dependance on that waiver will save them, maybe it won’t. Personally, I can’t live with that uncertainty.
Jesus taught us to pray like the lost sinner in his story. “The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, sinner that I am!’” (Luke 18:13) The Lord assured us that, “this man went down to his home justified.”
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. That’s a prayer to repeat every day. It’s a prayer not only to mouth, but also to live out in my attitude. The ongoing plea for mercy is the only prayer that appropriates his sufficiency into my need. It’s the only prayer that lets me sleep each night, knowing that when the big crumble hits, I’ll land in his arms.
Prayer: Gracious Father, get ready to catch this sinner.
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- Written by: Don Goulding
But David replied to the Philistine [Goliath], “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! (1 Samuel 17:45)
David had no delusions of grandeur as King Saul tried to fit him out with armor. He was a boy who watched sheep. But why would he and his flock be delivered from bears and lions, and not from this overlarge man who slandered the one true Jehovah? David was merely slinging stones and trusting God like he always had.
None of us can plan to be a hero. That would only result in false acclaim from an expiring world. True greatness comes, not of commanding leadership or financial prowess, but from the strength of my dependence on Jesus. Humble faith eclipses temporal gain every time.
Like Superman, I have a kryptonite that destroys me. My nemesis is my own sin. That’s the secret darkness that ruins my story. The only remedy is exposure to beams from Jesus, the Son of God. When I clutch him to my core, forgiveness, purpose, and humble greatness radiate into me.
David’s victory did not come because of his skill, but because he trusted God. No one else in Israel’s army had the boyish faith of David. God turned that humble confidence into a giant triumph over a giant man. The kingdom economy works the same today.
Prayer: Lord Christ, living hand in hand with you makes me a superhero.