Get Up With God
highly caffeinated daily bible doses to help start your morning off right

Today, let’s pray like Jesus . . .

Go into your room,
close the door
and pray to your Father,
who is unseen.

Then your Father,
who sees what is done in secret,
will reward you.

And when you pray,
do not keep on babbling like the pagans,
for they think they will be heard
because of their many words.

Do not be like them,
for your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.

This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.
(Matthew 6:6-13)

This week on GUWG, we’re examining some of the world’s favorite Bible verses and the impact they’ve had on people’s lives.

Imagine you’re seventeen years old.

You’re hanging out at a lake, enjoying the last days of summer with your friends. You swim out to a raft and warm yourself in the sun. Then you dive back into the water — too deeply. Your head hits the bottom, you hear a loud snap and then everything goes black.

You wake up in a hospital bed, unable to move your arms and legs. The doctor tells you that you’ll probably be that way the rest of your life.

How would you react?

The above story is from the life of Joni Eareckson Tada. Here’s how she reacted . . .

First, she was angry with God. She felt cheated by life. She could no longer do the things she loved: dancing, playing tennis, riding her horse. Hugely depressed, she asked friends to help her commit suicide. Thankfully, they didn’t listen.

One friend took the time to sit down with Joni and read the Bible with her. It opened Joni’s eyes to a whole new reality beyond her non-functioning limbs. She was awestruck by a Savior who loved her, died for her and saved her.

Joni gave her heart to Jesus and went to to live a life overflowing with love by turning her “disability” into a blessing for others. She authored eighteen inspirational books, hosted a nationally syndicated radio show to encourage those with physical challenges, founded Joni and Friends Ministries to help spread the Gospel, was a presidential appointee to the National Council on Disability, helped pass the Americans with Disabilities Act and was the first woman named Layperson of the Year by the National Association of Evangelicals. She also became a highly accomplished artist using a paintbrush held between her teeth, as well as a much-sought-after motivational speaker. Her autobiography, Joni, was an international bestseller and was made into a movie that inspired millions.

What’s Joni’s favorite verse?

For no matter how many promises
God has made,
they are “Yes” in Christ.
And so through him
the “Amen” is spoken to us
by the glory of God.
(2 Corinthians 1:20)

Here’s what it means to her:

Just think, every promise God has ever made finds its fulfillment in Jesus. God doesn’t just give us grace, He gives us Jesus, the Lord of Grace. If it’s peace, it’s only found in Jesus, the Prince of Peace. Even life itself is found in the Resurrection and the Life.

Christianity isn’t all that complicated . . . it’s Jesus.

(Quotation from Lamp Unto my Feet by Art Toalston)

Got a favorite verse you’d like to share? I’d love to hear from you. Shoot me an e-mail at getupwithgod1@yahoo.com. Thanks!

It’s WISDOM WEEK here on GUWG, where all week we’ll be probing the practical principles of Proverbs.

Today’s topic? RELATIONSHIPS.

God designed us for relationships. People need people.

But let’s be honest. Sometimes people can be a pain. They can rub us the wrong way. Sparks can fly.

What does the Book of Proverbs say about relationships? Plenty . . .

A friend loves at all times . . .
(17:17)

Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
(27:6)

As iron sharpens iron,
so one man sharpens another.
(27:17)

Satan loves it when we’re all alone. He does some of his best work when we isolate ourselves away from those who love us most.

Unfortunately, on those all-too-rare occasions when we step away from the computer, turn off the TV and unplug the iPod, we often seek out people who flatter us or agree 100% with everything we say.

Stay sharp. Surround yourself with people who love you enough to tell you the truth and to hold you accountable. And then do the same for them. In a world full of isolation and deception, sometimes that’s exactly what we need.

Here’s one final “friendly” Proverb . . .

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
(18:24)

When it comes to friends, don’t go for quantity. Go for quality.

Who’s the best friend in the history of the universe? Jesus. No matter how dark things may seem, he’ll stick with you 24/7. He’ll never leave you nor forsake you.

NEVER GO IT ALONE

Jesus answered this question definitively . . .

I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.
(John 14:6)

The world doesn’t care much for those two sentences. There are many paths. Everyone’s right. I’m OK, you’re OK. Jesus was a good man, just not God.

It wants religious tolerance — just not of Christians.

Here’s what some famous people had to say about this popular notion:

• Homer Simpson: “I’m gonna die! Jesus, Allah, Buddha — I love you all!”
• Gandhi: “All paths leading to God are equally good.”
• Oprah: “One of the biggest mistakes humans make is to believe there is only one way. Actually, there are many diverse paths leading to what you call God.”
• John Lennon: “I believe that what Jesus and Mohammad and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It’s just that the translations have gone wrong.”
• “Christian” author Anne LaMott: “I feel there are many, many paths to God and to what other people would call salvation but what I would call maybe feeling that you’re welcome here, and that you’re semi-OK and that you’re really, really loved and it’s OK.”

Christianity isn’t religious bigotry. It just happens to be the truth. Take away Jesus’ statement above and the whole thing falls apart. In fact, the very heart of the Bible is the stupendous news that Jesus is singular, superior and savior. That was God’s loving plan all along:

For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish
but have eternal life.
(John 3:16)

The fact that Jesus is our one and only savior has led to persecution of Christians ever since he arrived on the scene. But don’t let that deter you from spreading God’s great news just like Jesus did: with humility, grace, love — and truth.

ONE WAY,
ONE TRUTH,
ONE LIFE:
JESUS

I love how Jesus turns the world on its head . . .

How does he view the poor? Blessed.

The hungry? Blessed.

The mourners? The hated? The excluded? The insulted? The rejected? Blessed. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.

What does he say about the rich? Woe.

The comfortable? Woe.

The well fed? Those who laugh now? Those who are celebrated?
Woe. Woe. Woe.

What should we do to our enemies? Love ‘em.

What if someone mistreats us? Pray for ‘em.

What if someone smacks us in the face? Turn the other cheek.

What if someone steals from us? Give ‘em more.

FOLLOW JESUS
NOT THE WORLD

Yesterday, we kicked off OLD TESTAMENT WEEK here on GUWG.

Here’s a SparkNotes (or CliffsNotes for those of you who may be a bit old school like me) version of the OT . . .

Act 1: Creation
God creates Adam and Eve. They hang out in the Garden. All is good.

Act 2: The Fall
Adam and Eve decide to go their own way. Not good.

Act 3: The Plan
God puts in motion his plan to save mankind. All will be good again.

So, what’s the plan? God gives his people lots of clues in the form of prophecies uttered by guys with cool Bible names like Ezekiel, Isaiah, Elijah and many more. In fact, the OT contains dozens and dozens of prophecies about God’s plan.

So, what exactly is the plan? Here it is in one word:

JESUS

Mathematicians have calculated the odds that Jesus beat when he fulfilled all the detailed OT prophecies:

1

in

10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Or, to put it another way, let’s say someone covered my entire home state of Wisconsin twelve feet deep with cheese balls and marked just one with an “X.” The odds that you could wander the state blindfolded and pick just the right cheeseball in one try are less than the odds Jesus overcame when he fulfilled all the messianic prophecies.

What were some of those OT prophecies? Here’s a mere sampling:

• He would be born in tiny little Bethlehem.
• He would be born to a virgin.
• He would be betrayed for thirty silver coins that would be scattered on the temple floor and later used to buy a potter’s field.
• His hands and feet would be pierced (predicted 800 years before the Romans even started practicing crucifixion).
• His killers would gamble for his clothes.
• He would come back to life after death.

COINCIDENCE? ACCIDENT? MYTH?
YOU DECIDE.

How close should we be to Jesus? One little world paints the picture:

in

He doesn’t want us just to know about him. Or simply to be with him. He wants us to go much deeper than that. He wants the closest, most intimate relationship imaginable. He wants us to be in him.

It’s mind-blowing but it’s true. Here’s what the Bible says:

• Remain in me, and I will remain in you. (John 15:4)
• For in him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)
• For in him you have been enriched in every way. (1 Corinthians 5:1)
• God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
• Be found in him. (Philippians 3:9)

If you really want to get into Jesus, get into Ephesians. It’s inundated with “in”:

• He chose us in him before the creation of the world. (1:4)
• In him we have redemption through his blood. (1:7)
• And you were also included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. (1:13)
• Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. (1:14)
• God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. (2:6)
• But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. (2:13)
• In him, the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. (2:21-22)
• In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (3:12)

Over and over the Bible tells us to trust in Him, hope in Him, believe in Him. Starting to get the picture?

GET
IN

She had a sister called Mary,
who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

She came to him and asked,
“Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?
Tell her to help me!”

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered,
“you are worried and upset about many things,
but only one thing is needed.
Mary has chosen what is better,
and it will not be taken away from her.”
(Luke 10:39-42)

Are you more Martha or Mary?

Are you distracted? Worried? Upset? Too busy with life’s many things?

Or are you content to hang out with Jesus and listen to Him?

If you’re more Martha than Mary, here’s what the Savior of the Universe has to say to you:

________, ________:

[Insert your name -- He says it twice to make sure He's got your attention.]

Only one thing is needed.
Choose it and it will never be taken from you.

What’s the one thing? A relationship with Jesus. With it, you’ve got everything. Without it, you’ve got nothing.

Choose to spend time today with Jesus. There’s nothing better.

It’s SPIRIT WEEK here on GUWG. Each day, we’ll be looking at one of the most misunderstood (at least by me) topics in the Bible: the HOLY SPIRIT.

Here are today’s verses, straight from the mouth of Jesus . . .

I am the true vine,
and my Father is the gardener.
He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit,
while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes
so that it will be even more fruitful.

Remain in me,
and I will remain in you.
No branch can bear fruit by itself;
it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I am the vine;
you are the branches.
If a man remains in me and I in him,
he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing.
(John 15:1-2, 4-5)

I love it when the Bible paints pictures.

The Father is the gardener. Jesus is the vine. We’re the branches. The Holy Spirit is the life-giving sap that runs from the vine to the branches. If the branches stay connected to the vine, they live and grow fruit. If they don’t, they die. It’s that simple.

So, what “fruit” does the Holy Spirit help us grow? A cornucopia of fabulous stuff:

• love
• joy
• peace
• patience
• kindness
• goodness
• faithfulness
• gentleness
• self-control

We’ll talk about each of these in detail in the next few days. Until then:

REMAIN IN THE VINE

Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you.
(Matthew 5:44)

Think of the one person on this planet whom you despise more than anyone else. Here’s what Jesus says we should do about people like that:

Love them. Pray for them.

What would happen if people actually took Jesus’ words seriously? Think we’d have less war? Fewer shootings in our neighborhoods?

Want more peace in the world? Let it start today with you. Ask God to crack the cement around your heart and to help you love the people you hate. And then pray for them.

Need more inspiration? Here are a few additional verses for your consideration:

• A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (John 13:34)
• Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27b-28)
• Do not repay anyone evil for evil . . . If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. (Romans 12:17, 20)
• When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. (Romans 12b-13a)
• Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. (1 John 2:9-10a)