Today I was preparing for a speaking engagement coming up in February, and was struck again by the power of Jesus’ statements about Himself. So much is said about Jesus, by both His fans and His critics. What does He say of Himself?

In His own words…

Who do you say that He is?

Surely He is the Christ, the Son of God!

Today it is my privilege to host my friend Kathy Howard here on the blog! Kathy is the author of several fantastic studies – two of which I have personally led with women from my own church family. It was a privilege to get to know her as a friend through our time writing together at Scripture Dig. Kathy is a gifted teacher of God’s Word, and I would strongly encourage you to considering joining her for this online journey through the book of Ephesians!

Chocolate surrounded me. Left, right, ahead, and behind. Everywhere I turned, chocolate lay in great mounds. Every shape and size, wrapped and unwrapped, with nuts and without, cream- filled and nougat, round and rectangle. I have dreamed of a chocolate paradise such as this many times, but this wasn’t a dream.

This time I stood in an actual chocolate paradise. This was not some average, American chocolate shop. I had the joy of salivating in a European chocolate establishment. (And yes, Hershey, they do it better.) The chocolate aroma overwhelmed me and I had to squash the thought of Eve eyeing the forbidden fruit.

Everything I could have hoped for was here – plus many I could have never imagined. The tantalizing smorgasbord of tastes and textures excited me. Chocolate with coconut for my husband? Three choices! Sugar-free chocolate for my diabetic father-in-law? Oh yes, more than he could ever eat! The experience far surpassed my greatest chocolate fantasy. I left with gifts in one hand and my own personal stash in the other.

This morning I fondly thought about this chocolate shop visit when I read through the Bible book of Ephesians. Here’s a couple of passages that thrilled me:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Ephesians 1:3, NIV

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. Ephesians 3:20, NIV

I know my chocolate experience is a weak analogy for these glorious promises, but no physical comparison can measure up to the spiritual blessing God desires to pour into our lives. (So everything considered, being set loose with an unlimited chocolate selection was a good choice.)

Are you experiencing “every spiritual blessing in Christ?” Have you witnessed God do “immeasurable more than all you can ask or imagine?” I honestly can’t say I have, but I’m growing that direction. Want to come along?

You’re invited to join me in a study of the book of Ephesians. “Growing Up Together – a study of Ephesians,” begins Wednesday, January 18th on my blogsite. You can visit my blog now for a bit more information.

Do you long to experience God’s blessing in your life? In what areas do you feel your faith needs to grow?

Kathy Howard calls herself a “confused southerner.” Raised in Louisiana, she and her husband have lived all over North America. She doesn’t know whether to say “coke” and “ya’ll” or “pop” and “you guys.” But this Southern girl loves to encourage women through teaching and writing about God’s Word. Find out more about Kathy’s Bible studies and speaking ministry and get lots of free resources at www.kathyhoward.org

Image via Wikipedia

Let me confess something to you – I’ve watched almost every season of The Bachelor. I hear your groans of disappointment – or perhaps, quiet celebration that you are not alone in your secret Bachelor-obsession.

It all started because NP worked on Monday evenings. And then when he didn’t, watching crazy reality TV with a mental health professional is pretty interesting – so he joined me in the weekly ritual of wondering how that many grown adults can simultaneously lose all sense of sanity and boundaries. It’s like driving by a really terrible accident when you just simply cannot avert your eyes.

A few months ago I admitted my Bachelor habit to my Bible study. And then I felt completely justified in the hours I have spent with our pal Chris Harrison because it turned into a memorable illustration. At least, it was a memorable illustration for me. :)

My hypothesis is this: every season, the producers of reality drama stack their shows with a few people who legitimately are already teetering on the edge of their own reality, just to spice things up. The rest of the typically sane and balanced people get sucked into unbelievable amounts of drama and warped views of reality simply because they are isolated from all outside influence. No interactions with family or friends, no work to do, no media, no time and space and quiet to allow their minds to think sane thoughts. They are surrounded by people who are equally isolated from their normally balancing influences of meaningful work and relationships, put into completely unrealistic situations, and they all begin to convince themselves that they should fall in love with the same man everyone else is falling in love with – because if you don’t, you’re actually a failure and a fake in the world of The Bachelor.

The one “truism” (perhaps better named a “falsism?”) that is clung to, time and time again in every season, is this: “follow your heart.” The thing is, that doesn’t work out so well. Ever. “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9

Welcome to crazy town.

My light-bulb moment with The Bachelor was this – what if we are more like those women sauntering into The Bachelor mansion than we realize? What if we can become so consumed with our daily reality – be it laundry, social media, toddler tantrums, household annoyances, stressful relationships, work demands, etc. – that we lose all sight of the larger Reality? We become so consumed with the mundane and temporal that we are unreasonable, irrational, overly dramatic, and dangerously close to making terrible life-altering decisions? We are surrounded by others who are equally enraptured with the shallow-now, who are constantly telling us what and who should be the recipient of our deep affection – and we are capable of losing touch with Reality all together.

I cannot simply follow my heart. My heart is deceitful and beyond cure. If I do what I am naturally inclined to do, or what feels right, or what appeals to me most, I will end up in a world of hurt. It will be me crying in crazy town. Maybe not on The Bachelor – but I’ve seen a lot of crying-in-crazy-town facebook status updates and tweets over the years. We all teeter on the edge of reality.

There really is only one solution – one way that we can jog our minds and hearts and souls back to what really matters. As we daily open up God’s Word, we discover the larger Reality. I find that while God is present in my daily life and invested in how I deal with my screaming preschooler or mountain of laundry, it matters only because of the bigger story He is telling in my life, in His church, in the world, and all across the pages of human history. His Word is the anchor that keeps me from drifting out into the dangerous ocean of my own selfish pride, my own fallen intuition, my own inclination to “follow my heart.” He is the only antidote for my natural inclination toward drama and memorable meltdowns.

Have you had your Reality check today?

“Santa’s coming this weekend! Have you been good?”

The question has been posed to my children time and time again over the past days and weeks. Last night as I rolled out pie crust and listened to the Christmas music filling up my playlist, I wondered… how often do we try to make Jesus into Santa Claus?

We want Jesus to fill our outstretched hands with fabulous things. We will gladly supply Him with a wishlist – and often do, sometimes in the form of long and drawn out prayers attempting to convince God to give us what we want need.

To add another complex layer to our confusion, many of us have convinced ourselves that getting on his ‘good side’ depends on our good behavior. Works for Santa, right? Just stay off of the naughty list, that’s all he asks of you!

But the amazing, stunning, scandalous truth of Christmas is this: Jesus is nothing like Santa Claus.

He does see you when you’re sleeping, and He does know when you’re awake – but He knows the truth: none of us are good. We are inherently tainted with sin from birth, and then have chosen to rebel against Him time and time and time again. It is impossible for us to “be good for goodness sake.”

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. – Romans 5:8

While we were yet sinners. While we were utterly incapable of reaching out to Him, even with our feeble attempts at goodness, He loved us enough to humble Himself, wrap Himself in flesh, and present Himself as the ultimate gift on a cross-shaped tree.

The scandalous truth of the Gospel is this: Jesus is nothing like Santa Claus. He’s not looking to reward good behavior. He’s not interested in you trying harder. He’s watching you – but it’s with an eye of tender mercy and compassion. He sees us in our sin and desperation and failure – He sees what we really are, deep inside, the shameful secrets we try to hide.

Instead of waiting for you to get your act together, He came. He came offering the most priceless gift we can imagine, the one we could never, ever earn – He offers the gift of Himself.

While we were yet sinners.

Yes, Jesus is nothing like Santa. The Gospel is gloriously scandalous – you are more deeply broken and sinful than you could ever dare to admit, and you are more lavishly loved than you will ever comprehend. Stop trying to be good, friends, and come to Him in your brokenness. What He offers you in exchange will take your breath away.