7 May: Tuesday Refocus

“To escape the error of salvation by works we have fallen into the opposite error of salvation without obedience. In our eagerness to get rid of the legalistic doctrine of works we have thrown out the baby with the bath and gotten rid of obedience as well.” - A.W. Tozer

We live in a day when restriction, restraint, and self-denial are seen as oppressive - that true freedom can only be found in giving full vent to my own desires. And so long as they ‘don’t hurt anyone else,’ we should be free to live however we deem most authentic to our true selves. But Christians follow a God who said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24).” Christians live lives of obedience and self-denial not so that we will be saved, but because we have been saved.

Obedience gives evidence to what we believe about God and what we believe about ourselves. Because we follow a Savior who ‘…being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).” We know that “…to obey is better than sacrifice… (1 Samuel 15:22).” And that obedience follows love: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15).” 

“In binding love you set me free.” - Wendell Berry

Father, may our obedience follow our love. Amen.

Amen,

AB

30 April: Tuesday Refocus

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.” - Romans 12:9-14

In a world that prides itself on radical individualism, perhaps there is nothing more counter-cultural than intentionally investing yourself into the community of faith - to know and be known. To serve and be served. In humility to count others as more significant than yourself. To contribute to the needs of the saints.

In a world that prides itself on the vilification of anyone who thinks differently, or mistreats us in any way - perhaps one of the most counter-cultural acts is to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. To cross the greater distance of relational divide. To bless and not to curse. To live peaceably with all people as far as it depends on you. Not to cancel people who have hurt us or abandon a relationship over a misunderstanding. Not to hurt people before they hurt us, but instead to seek the good of the other.

For followers of Jesus, when we love our enemies, what we are saying is ‘I know I once was an enemy of God, but because of Jesus, I have been completely forgiven. If God can forgive me of all my sins, how can I not offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me?’

Father, may these things be true of us by the indwelling and empowering work of your Spirit. In Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

23 April: Tuesday Refocus

“For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.” - Romans 12:3

God has uniquely gifted and wired every follower of Christ. We are given gifts by the Holy Spirit not for selfish ambition, but for building up the body of Christ. For God’s glory, and for the good of His people and His world. Thinking of myself with sober judgment means I can celebrate the gifts of others without despairing of the gifts I perceive I do not possess. It means that I can also acknowledge the way God has gifted me without boasting in myself or belittling others.

Each of us is more than our gifts. But we are given gifts to spend selfishly but to invest selflessly.

Father, may we use the gifts you have entrusted to us for your glory and the good of your Church and your world. Amen.

Amen,

AB

16 April: Tuesday Refocus

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:1-2

In view of everything that has come before in Romans 1-11: the saving work of Christ, the power of God, God’s righteousness, our justification through faith, the reality that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, that God has united us to Christ, that we have been adopted as sons and heirs, and that there is future glory, in view of the heart, and character of God, in view of what God has done and will do, in view of the entire counsel of Scripture and God’s revelation of Himself - offer yourself as a spiritual act of worship.

In a world that on both sides of the political spectrum chants ‘my body, my choice,’ in a world that says ‘as long as you are not hurting anyone else, you get to use your body however you’d like, Scripture says, no. You have been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:20). Scripture says, no, in view of God’s mercy offer yourself as a spiritual act of worship. Offer your body - all that you are - as an act of worship to God. Not just your ‘Christian activities,’ but your very life as a spiritual act of worship.

God may we offer all in response to all of You, in Christ’s name we pray, amen.

Amen,

AB

9 April: Tuesday Refocus

“The church - the body of Christ - is the place where God invites us to renew our loves, reorient our desires, and retrain our appetites.” - James K.A. Smith

Every person is a tangled mess of loves, desires, and appetites. At the moment of conversion, followers of Jesus have been given a new heart, and from a new heart flows new affections (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10). But we will spend a lifetime for our affections to be continually transformed - this is the ongoing work of sanctification.

Through the power of God’s Word, God’s Spirit, and God’s people that I…

…am reminded of who I am, who I am not, and who I am called to be. 

…come face to face with a life in community that breaks apart my desire for self-sufficiency.

…learn to serve rather than be served.

…am both wounded and healed.

…am reminded of who God is, and what He has done.

Father, may we joyfully submit to Your work through Your people for Your glory and our good, amen.

Amen,

AB

2 April: Tuesday Refocus

"The first and most basic thing we can and must do is to keep God before our minds... this is the fundamental secret of caring for our souls. Our part in this practicing the presence of God is to direct and redirect our minds constantly to Him." - Dallas Willard

Missionary Frank Laubach challenged himself by intentionally dedicating hours of every day, minutes of every hour, even seconds of every minute to turn his thoughts toward the Lord. The Psalmist said: ‘I have set the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken (Psalm 16:8).” The prophet Isaiah said: “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock (Isaiah 26:3-4).”

How might our souls be shaped when our minds are given to meditate on the person and work of Christ? How might we encounter the world, others, and ourselves differently if our attention is fixed on the Lord?

Spirit, may you lift our eyes to behold Jesus in the small and significant moments of this day and every day. In Christ’s name, amen.

Amen,

AB

Good Friday

Lent is the season of bright sadness. And perhaps we feel the sadness most acutely on Good Friday. We take the bread and wine, behold the cross, read of the suffering Savior, and recognize the severity of our own sin. And still, on this side of the cross, we know that resurrection has come - and is coming - brightness - life, hope, return. So whether you gather with the people of God, or reflect silently and individually today, lean into the sadness and feel it give way to brightness.

Here are a few other Good Friday reflections:

Good Friday - 2023

Good Friday - 2022

13 February: Tuesday Refocus

“Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”- John 13:1-5

“…the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

Jesus is both servant and savior. Not one or the other, but both at once. This has always been true of His identity even before he took on flesh and stepped into the world. We behold the servant savior with piercing clarity at the cross. But even in the waning hours before the cross, Jesus continues to serve His disciples - a meal, praying for them, sharing with them, and washing their feet. The One who empties himself by taking on the form of a servant performs the act of the lowliest servant - stooping to washing the feet of the cowardly and fearful, the deniers and the betrayer.

Father, on the eve of this Lenten season, may we behold the servant savior with piercing clarity. In Jesus name, amen.

Beholding,

AB

6 February: Tuesday Refocus

“The first act of love is always the giving of attention.’ - Dallas Willard

The attention and affection of God cannot be splintered, divided, or diluted. And although we are poor and needy, the Lord takes thought for us (Psalm 40:17). Because his eyes saw the unformed substance of our being and every one of our days (Psalm 139:16).

May this day be filled with turning our attention and affection toward the One whose attention and affection are already fixed upon His people.

Father, we thank you for your love. Jesus, we thank you for displaying that love through the cross. Spirit, remind us of what is true when we are prone to forget. Amen.

Loved,

AB

30 January: Tuesday Refocus

‘God with us:’ this is hell’s terror, the sufferers comfort, eternity’s sonnet, heaven’s hallelujah, the shout of the glorified.’ - Spurgeon

During the Advent season, we sing of Emmanuel, God with us. God with us in the straw and swaddling clothes is the beginning of God with us in the tomb and grave clothes. Because the aim of Christmas is ultimately the cross and resurrection. In Christ, “…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8

This is the mystery into which angels long to look (1 Peter 1:12), this is the new and eternal song of heaven (Revelation 5:9-14): that God is with man so that that man might be with God again.

Jesus, you are God with us so that we might be with God - thank you, thank you, thank you. Amen.

Amen and amen,

AB

23 January: Tuesday Refocus

“The heart which has no agenda but God’s is the heart at leisure form itself. Its emptiness is filled with the love of God. Its solitude can be turned into prayer.” - Elisabeth Elliot

We enter a new year with excitement, anticipation, anxiety, and likely a few lists and plans for what we hope to accomplish, who we desire to become. Whether conscious or not, we have an agenda. But how quickly those best laid plans, or the pace of life fill every corner our heart, mind, life, time, and attention. Don’t you desire rest?

For the follower of Jesus, rest is not the reward for a job well-done. Rest is the posture of heart and life because Christ has accomplished what we could never do: heal the divide sin has wrought between God and man (Hebrews 10, Colossians 1:20).

Cease your striving, find rest in God.

Empty your heart, be filled with God’s love.

Silence the noise, and meet God in prayer.

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” - Psalm 33:20-22

Waiting,

AB

16 January: Tuesday Refocus

“Calm me, O Lord, as You still the storm. Still me, O Lord, keep me from harm. Let all the tumult within me cease. Enfold me, Lord, in Your peace.” - Celtic prayer

The rest and rescue we most desire cannot be found in created things. Both within and without the ground of our being and beneath our feet is sand. Shifting, sinking. No amount of interior exploration, or exterior distraction can level out the most unsettled places of our souls.

But there is good news, there is hope - Christ our Savior is a firm and fixed hope, an anchor for our souls (Psalm 18:1-2, Hebrews 6:19). Upon the throne of grace is seated a Savior who lives to make intercession - daily bearing us up at the right hand of the Father (Hebrews 4:16, Hebrews 7:25, Psalm 68:19, Romans 8:34). Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne, and steadfast love and faithfulness go before Him (Psalm 89:14). Even in the chaos of the world and our hearts, no one can be snatched from the hand of the Savior (John 10:28).

Father, in the middle of storms within and without, may our gaze be fixed, my our lives be anchored, my our souls rest in the life, death, resurrection, and intercession of Your Son, Jesus. In His name, amen.

Wrestling and resting,

AB