DayBreaks for the Week of 4/15/24 – The Cuddle Bunny Gospel

Psalm 34:11 – Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD. Twenty-first-century America is truly a consumer society.  And what is the goal of life if you believe you are descended from monkeys and that the grave will be your final destiny?  To feel good while you can.  To grab the gusto.  To live life without limits.  To live with no fear.  To try everything at least once, and if it feels good, to do it again until it no longer satisfies and then find something else.  After all, you wouldn’t want to lay on your death bed wishing that you’d tried just that one more thing, would you?  Just missing out on one single thing could spell the difference between feeling like your life was complete and fulfilled or not.  What a terrible way to live! The real danger comes when the church starts to take its cues from the world around us, instead of the other way around.  When the church accommodates to a feel-good goal and it centers its existence on programs and activities to the expense of the truth, the church is, as Chuck Colson put it, “…in danger of trivializing the holy.” Russell Kirk said: “He who admits no fear of God is really a post-Christian man; for at the heart of Judaism and Christianity lies a holy dread.”  How are you doing in your own family about teaching your children to fear the Lord, as David said he would do?  How is your church doing?  Or do you only present the feel-good, warm-and-fuzzy cuddle-bunny gospel?  God is not to be trifled with.  He never was and never will be that kind of God.  When we only teach and preach a gospel that makes us feel good, that takes away any fear of God’s discipline on us as His children, we are in serious trouble.  Hebrews 12:6 (NLT) says: For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.  If God loves you, He WILL discipline you when you step out of His pathway.  He doesn’t do it to be capricious, but because He loves you.  And while it may not be pleasant, we can always know He has our best at heart. PRAYER: It is good to have a Father like You who loves us enough to discipline us when we need it.  Thank You for Your gentleness! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Copyright 2024 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

DayBreaks for 3/30/21 – Love Was the Difference

From the DayBreaks archive, March 2012:

The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So, God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. – Romans 8:3

Walter Wangerin, Jr. tells a wonderfully illustrative story called “Matthew, Seven, Eight, and Nine” about how he tried to stop his son Matthew from stealing comic books. He tried all sorts of things, including various uses of the law over a period of several years but no matter what he tried, his son kept stealing comics.  Finally, after his exasperation reached its limit, he resorted to spanking his son, Matthew. The spanking was administered coldly and seemingly without emotion or compassion.  When he was done, though, he was so upset that he left the room and wept. After getting his composure back, he went into Matthew’s room, pulled him close and gave him a hug.  Years later after Matthew had grown up, he and his mom were reminiscing, and Matthew brought up the topic of how he’d stolen the comics.  He asked his mother, “And you know why I finally stopped?” “Sure,” she said, “Because Dad finally spanked you.” “No!” replied Matthew, “No, because Dad cried.” Wangerin concludes his story with these words:

“Hereafter, let every accuser of my son reckon with the mercy of God, and fall into a heap, and fail. For love accomplished what the law could not, and tears more powerful than Sinai. Even the Prince of Accusers shall bring no charge against my son that the Final Judge shall not dismiss. Satan, you are defeated! My God has loved my Matthew.” (The story can be found in Walter Wangerin, Jr., The Manger Is Empty, pp. 116-132).

What the law could never do, love could.  What rule keeping could never accomplish, relationship could.  Let us also love, not just in word, but in truth and in deed.

PRAYER: We have been hurt by love many times, Lord.  Don’t let us run from your love, but welcome it and accept it as you have wept over us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2021, Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 8/27/19 – A History of Boredom

DayBreaks for 08/27/19: A History of Boredom

NOTE: Galen is on vacation for the next couple weeks and may not respond to any comments until he returns on 9/9/19.

From the DayBreaks archive, August 2009:

I would have loved to be in the garden of Eden to observe the temptation.  God had placed Adam and Eve in the garden with the instructions to tend to the garden and care for it.  I don’t know what Adam and Eve were up to when the temptation took place, but I can’t help but wonder if they were being either lazy or bored – and fell prey to a sinister and subtle enemy as a result. 

There has been a saying for as long as I can remember that says “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”  It is true, I think.  I know that when my mental faculties are fully engaged in some project or task, that I don’t have nearly as much opportunity to get distracted.  As long as I am focused on something that is wholesome and productive, I don’t have time to get into as much trouble.

Marvin Olasky, in World (May 23, 2009) wrote an editorial titled “An Era of Insecurity”.  He started off by quoting Soren Kierkegaard, who in a sardonic vein, commented that the history of the world is the history of boredom, which he called “the root of all evil…the gods were bored, therefore they created human beings.”  Kierkegaard didn’t really believe that, but the point he makes about boredom is very real.  The Bible, in the account of the garden, seems to even suggest the same thing when it notes that God saw that Adam was lonely and that it wasn’t a good thing.  (Stop and think about that one for a moment, too – Adam had fellowship directly with God, and yet he was still lonely.  I’m not sure what that says about Adam or us, but it is an intriguing thing to ponder!)  Adam’s loneliness and boredom led to God creating Eve (although I’m sure God planned to do that all along).  Is it possible that Eve’s boredom in the garden led to her “snake-listening?”  Was boredom a factor in Cain’s murdering his brother, Abel?  Was it partially boredom that led the residents of Babel to start working on a tower?  If, in all those cases, they’d been busy doing what they were supposed to be doing, I doubt that they’d have had the time to get into as much mischief. 

There are some who have said that boredom is America’s greatest danger.  I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it seems to be kids (and adults) who have nothing to do who get into the most trouble.  Empty hands, empty minds – they contribute more than their fair share to trouble.  If our minds are empty, they will find something to focus on.  Perhaps that’s why Paul suggested to the Philippians the following: Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.  – Philippians 4:8 (KJV)

Consider your own life for a few moments.  Aren’t you more prone to mischief when you’re alone and bored – or even when you are in a group, but bored?  We’ve lost the discipline of meditation – of thinking on things that are worth thinking about – so instead we think about things that don’t deserve a moment’s reflection.  And such is the stuff of temptation.

PRAYER:  Keep us from empty minds and empty hands that would lead us into sin, Lord, and teach us to contemplate the wonder that You are and the beauty and richness of Your Word!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright by 2019 by Galen C. Dalrymple.  ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 6/28/18: I Could Have Been Free

From the DayBreaks Archive, June 2008:

Dr. Ramesh Richard was the final speaker at Promise Keepers in Fresno.  He talked about living a Godly legacy, and he told a story about a man in Alabama who was imprisoned for a crime and given a life sentence.  The man had been wrongly convicted but was in jail serving time.  Over the course of the years while he was in prison, he tried three times to escape but was recaptured each time.  Finally, after many years had passed, the original conviction was overturned.  However, in Alabama, there is a law that says that if you are serving a life sentence and have tried 3 times to escape, that you are automatically sentenced to another life sentence.  As the man said after learning about this law: “I could have been free if I hadn’t run.” 

When a prisoner attempts an escape and goes on the run, they don’t usually end up finding the one-armed man that was guilty of the crime (remember The Fugitive?).  They usually end up getting caught and more time is added because of the escape attempt.  As attractive as running may seem, it is costly.  In the case of the Alabama man, it may cost him the rest of the years of his life.

Think about that in a spiritual light for just a moment.  What usually happens to men and women when they have committed some sin?  Do they typically come running to God or do they run from Him?  There is a part of us, like Adam and Eve demonstrated in the garden, that runs from God when we have done something wrong.  And you know what?  That is exactly the WRONG way to run.  Instead of running from God, we should run to him and take the discipline He has to give us.  Instead of running and trying to pretend that nothing is wrong, we need to be in His Presence, heads bowed and seek His forgiveness.  Then we can be free, but not until. 

Perhaps you’ve been running from God.  Moses tried to run from God with his excuses about why he wasn’t the man God wanted.  Jonah tried to run from God and found that he couldn’t find freedom in that direction.  Perhaps you are running from His calling for your life.  You’ll never find freedom as long as you are running.  Perhaps you are running because of sin that you don’t want to face up to because you’re afraid the discipline will be more than you can bear.  It won’t be.  God disciplines, yes, but He loves you and will not break you (Isa. 42:3): A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice…  Perhaps you are running from making a commitment to the Lord and giving Him your life.  What a tragedy it will be when someday you stand before His throne and say to yourself, “I could have been free if I hadn’t run.”

PRAYER:  Let us run to You, Lord, and cast ourselves on Your great mercy!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

COPYRIGHT 2018 by Galen C. Dalrymple. All rights reserved.

DayBreaks for 11/29/17 – The Hardest Part is Getting in the Water

From the DayBreaks archive, November 2007:

Have you ever competed in any kind of sports?  When I was in high school, I played basketball, tennis, football and ran a little track.  I found the competition very exciting.  I loved basketball above all other sports.  I remember one game, I was fouled with 2 seconds to play.  We were behind by 1 point so I had a chance to win the game.  The opposing coach called a timeout, intent on “icing” me – making me think about whether or not I’d be able to make the shots or whether I’d miss.  We were playing in the opposing team’s home gym.  The crowd was pressed all around the court and they were yelling.  The official blew the whistle and we walked back onto the court and I took my position at the free-throw line.  I missed the first shot, and then I missed the second shot.  I had failed.  I felt awful – like I’d let my teammates down, my coach down, my school down.  I wanted to bury my head in the sand and never come up again.

The next week, we were playing a different team, this time in our home gym.  Can anyone say “Déjà vu?”  Unbelievably, the scenario was repeated.  Down by 1 with just a few ticks of the clock, and I was fouled while shooting.  Once again, the opposing team coach called timeout.  My mind was spinning with the irony of it all – and the horror at what had happened the previous week.  After the timeout, I went to the free-throw line and made the first free-throw.  At least now the game was tied and at worst, we’d go into overtime.  The second free-throw also went through and I was a hero for the rest of the day. 

What made the difference between the first game and the second?  Hard to say.  But one thing I know: in the intervening time, I made a determined effort to shoot a LOT of free throws at every practice.  After practice, I’d go home and shoot free throws at the hoop on the back patio.  I can’t begin to guess how many free throws I shot between the first and second game.  To this day I don’t know if that’s why I made the shots during the second game, or if it was just God’s blessing.  And frankly, at the time, I didn’t care too much why – I was just relieved.

Kim Linehan held the world record in the Women’s 1500-meter freestyle.  According to her coach at the time, Paul Bergen, said his 18-year old was the leading amateur woman distance swimmer in the world.  She would exercise endlessly, swimming 7 to 12 miles a day.  Someone once asked her what was the hardest part of her regimen.  She replied: “Getting in the water.”

It is difficult to make strong beginnings.  It is difficult, day after day to get in the water, to step up to the free throw line and practice.  It is difficult, day after day to step up to the plate and take swings at being a Christ-like man or woman.  It would be so much easier to just stay in bed, to skip the practice, to circumvent the discipline.  But one thing is sure if we do that: we’ll never know or experience victory.  All we’ll know is defeat. 

Maybe this morning you feel as if you’ve just about had it.  You’re ready to surrender to that temptation that just keeps nagging you.  You’re ready to throw in the towel on your marriage.  You’re sick and tired of working so hard and getting so little recognition for it. 

Get in the water.  Once you do, good things start to happen.  Practice the spiritual disciplines that will equip you to win when hard times come, that hone your responses to a fine, shining point.  And never forget that it isn’t really you that gains any victory, it’s Jesus!

PRAYER:  When we are weary, God, tempted to not make the effort to be what you want us to be and to do what you want us to do, change our hearts and charge us with new fire from above.  Help us to do our part and get in the water and leave it up to you whether we walk on the surface or swim!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright by 2017 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

DayBreaks for 4/17/15 – Cuddle Bunny Gospel?

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DayBreaks for 4/17/15: Cuddle Bunny Gospel?

Psalm 34:11 – Come, my children, and listen to me, and I will teach you to fear the LORD.

Twenty-first century America is truly a consumer society.  And what is the goal of life if you believe you are descended from monkeys and that the grave will be your final destiny?  To feel good while you can.  To grab the gusto.  To live life without limits.  To live with no fear.  To try everything at least once, and if it feels good, to do it again.  After all, you wouldn’t want to lie on your death bed wishing that you’d tried just that one more thing, would you?  Just missing out on one single thing could spell the difference between feeling like your life was complete and fulfilled or not.  What a terrible way to live!

The real danger comes when the church starts to take its cues from the world around us, instead of the other way around.  When the church accommodates to a feel-good goal and it centers its existence on programs and activities to the expense of the truth, the church is, as Chuck Colson put it, “…in danger of trivializing the holy.”

Russell Kirk said: “He who admits no fear of God is really a post-Christian man; for at the heart of Judaism and Christianity lies a holy dread.” 

How are you doing in your own family about teaching your children to fear the Lord, as David said he would do?  How is your church doing?  Or do you only present the feel-good, warm-and-fuzzy cuddle-bunny gospel?  God is not to be trifled with.  He never was and never will be that kind of God.  When we only teach and preach a gospel that makes us feel good, that takes away any fear of God’s discipline on us as His children, we are in serious trouble.  Hebrews 12:6 (NLT) says: For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes those he accepts as his children.  If God loves you, He WILL discipline you when you step out of His pathway.  He doesn’t do it to be capricious, but because He loves you.  And while it may not be pleasant, we can always know He has our best at heart.

PRAYER: It is good to have a Father like You who loves us enough to discipline us when we need it.  Thank You for Your gentleness! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

© 2015, Galen C. Dalrymple.

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DayBreaks for 1/22/14 – Disappointment #1

DayBreaks for 1/22/14 – Disappointment #1

Job 5:7 (MSG)  It’s human! Mortals are born and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward.

I won’t ask you when the last time was that you were disappointed. I’m sure that you were disappointed already today if you’ve been up for more than a few minutes. You may be disappointed in the weather, or with how you slept. You may be disappointed with your kids or spouse for not rising earlier. You may be disappointed in yourself over something you did or didn’t do. If you’ve been in to the office already, or to school, chances are you’ve been disappointed.  It happens a lot.  Listen to this introduction by John Ortberg from the book, The Surprising Grace of Disappointment by John Koessler:

“Every child enters the world crying. Disappointment is non-optional equipment  A wise observer said many centuries ago that human beings are born to suffer just as sparks fly upward.

“Sometimes, disappointment comes to thwart foolish wishes and immature dreams that richly deserve oblivion. I’m deeply grateful my earliest prayers were not answered. One of my first desires was to grow up to be Popeye the Sailor Man: and I am glad for a hundred reasons that did not happen – only one of which is that Olive Oyl turned out to be much less attractive to me when I became a man than she was when I was seven.

“But sometimes disappointment comes to good hopes and wonderful desires. Somebody has a deeper hunger for a strong, rich, life-affirming marriage. Somebody hopes to have an education and pursue wonderful knowledge, but they grow up in poverty and never have the opportunity. Somebody hopes to be reconciled with an impossible parent. Somebody hopes that their child won’t die.

“Then comes disappointment.”

You know it is true. You’ve drank from the dregs of disappointment’s bitter tonic. Yet, disappointment is a good medicine in the right dosage and if taken properly. Dietrich Bonhoeffer believed no one was safe as a part of a community unless they had first been dis-illusioned, for if they haven’t died to their illusions about a community of perfect people and been awakened by that disappointment to love the real people God has put around them they will never be able to love others who will disappoint them frequently.

Francois Fenelon wrote this long ago: “God must tear from us what we love wrongly, unreasonably, or excessively, that which hinders his love.  In so doing, he causes us to cry out like a child from whom one takes the knife with which it would maim or kill itself.”

Ortberg concludes: “…this strange and costly truth – God is sometimes present to us in disappointment in ways that He is present in no other times, for in disappointment we know that God is all we really ever have…for the Bible is not first of all the story of human disappointment. It is, in a strange way, the story of the disappointment of God.”

We’ll explore this topic more in coming weeks. Let disappointment, like discipline, be a guide in your life. The sparks will continue to fly upward and we will suffer and face disappointment. We must learn to see it as a part of how God is shaping us to enter His kingdom stripped of all but Him.

PRAYER: Father, let us learn our lessons about disappointment, realizing that we have disappointed You more than we will ever be disappointed ourselves. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2014 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

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DayBreaks for 11/14/11 – Breathing the Spirit

DayBreaks for 11/14/11 – Breathing the Spirit

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.- Romans 8:11

Did you catch that?  The Spirit that was the power that raised Jesus from the dead LIVES IN YOU.  What kind of power does it take to raise a dead body?  Power, real, incredible power!  And that power lives in you!  But are you experiencing the benefit of that?

The Spirit is called many things in scripture, but the word comes from the Greek, pneuma, which means breath or wind.  Many English words come from it: pneumonia, pneumatic, etc.  It helps when we recall that in the creation story, that God ”breathes” into Adam the breath of life.  What was God doing?  Breathing the spirit into Adam, who then became a living soul.

I have come to the point in my life where I recognize that the greatest challenge in the Christian walk isn’t dealing with temptation, guilt, sin, loving our enemies, forgiveness or anything like that.  I believe that all those struggles are just symptoms of one problem: failure to walk in the Spirit.  It is no surprise intellectually to believers that the Spirit is supposed to be the Power we receive from God to live holy lives.  But there’s a gap between knowing that and experiencing it.

I recently came across a simple spiritual discipline that we can incorporate into our lives to help us be more aware of the Spirit, His Presence, and to walk in His power.  Bill Bright, from Campus Crusade, taught a spiritual exercise called “Spiritual Breathing”, and it goes like this:

First, whenever you are aware of a sin in your life, exhale – literally breathe out and repent of the sin, confess it.  Repentance will eventually become a natural response and clears out spaces in our heart so the Spirit can fill us.  So, whenever you are proud, jealous, lustful, mean, impatient, unforgiving, whatever, exhale and repent of the sin. That’s the first part.  I’ve found it helpful as I exhale to say to myself, “I’m breathing out the spirit of fear/pride/envy, etc.” as I confess it to God.

SECOND: inhale – and as you do, pray to be filled with the Spirit and give up control to Him.  This is living in step with the Spirit and it builds a continuous awareness of the Spirit’s presence and leads to a constant prayer to be filled with His power.  I’ve added to this practice to consciously say to myself “I’m breathing in the spirit of trust/humility/contentment, etc.” (i.e., whatever is the opposite of what I was focused on while I exhaled and confessed). 

This practice of spiritual breathing will seem unnatural, and perhaps contrived, at first.  It may seem weird or spacey to you, a bit off the deep end, perhaps.  Why?  Because we were never taught to stay in step with the Spirit.  Don’t give up with this discipline/practice!  It takes a while for a kid to learn to walk – it requires lots of concentration to start with – but eventually it is completely natural and you don’t even think about it.  The same will happen with Spiritual Breathing – you’ll become more aware of His Presence and Power and what will feel awkward to start with will become second nature.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, teach us to walk in Your holiness and power.  Help us be aware moment by moment of Your Presence and to learn to live empowered by You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2011 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

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DayBreaks for 10/21/11 – Why It Takes a Lifetime

DayBreaks for 10/21/11 – Why It Takes A Lifetime

There's a reason it requires a living sacrifice...

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Romans 12:1

In a recent interview that one of my sons had with Richard Foster (and which was posted on Patheos.com), the subject matter was developing the discipline necessary to live an abundant Christian life.  There isn’t a Christian that doesn’t want to have an “abundant life”, though there may be huge differences of opinion about what that means depending on whether you’re a proponent of the prosperity gospel or not!  I, for one, don’t think God cares nearly as much about our material prosperity as he does our spiritual prosperity – and that’s the kind of abundant life we should be seeking.  Yet, I fear that far too few of us are living with the kind of spiritual discipline to really grasp that abundant living.  Here’s what Foster had to say:

“You say it’s not hard — and yet people do find it difficult. Why would people find it hard to enter into contemplative prayer in the midst of the busyness of modern life?

“It’s difficult in the sense that we have to make ten thousand choices as we move along, a few hundred each day, probably. Do we say yes to the Good and the True and Beautiful? Do we say yes to what is life-giving and no to what is death-giving? There will always be those decisions.

“Consider that passage from Paul, “I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you submit your body as a living sacrifice.” But the problem with living sacrifices is that they’re always trying to crawl off the altar. That’s why they take a lifetime to be offered, and they have to be offered again and again. C.S. Lewis wrote that we make these decisions constantly, either moving us toward life or moving us toward death. And a lot of time we make conflicting decisions.”

Why does it take a lifetime to become mature in our faith?  Why can’t it happen overnight?  I suppose that on very rare occasions it may happen quickly, but usually it takes decades.  I think Foster nailed it when talking about living sacrifices and how “they take a lifetime to be offered, and they have to be offered again and again.”

We want it to be a one-time offering.  We don’t want to crawl back onto the altar of self-sacrifice and discipline over and over again.  But that is the price for mature Christianity and for victorious living in Christ!

PRAYER: Lord, rather than crawling onto the altar, we want to crawl off of it.  We want maturity without cost and pain.  Help us to realize that we can only grow in You as we die to ourselves…and as we stay on the altar as living, and dying, sacrifices to You!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2011 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

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DayBreaks for 06/03/11 – The Burro and the Horse

DayBreaks for 06/03/11 – The Burro and the Horse

And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴ And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁵ And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. (KJV) – Acts 9:3-5

John Killinger retells this story from Atlantic Monthly about the days of the great western cattle rancher:

“A little burro sometimes would be harnessed to a wild steed. Bucking and raging, convulsing like drunken sailors, the two would be turned loose like Laurel and Hardy to proceed out onto the desert range. They could be seen disappearing over the horizon, the great steed dragging that little burro along and throwing him about like a bag of cream puffs. They might be gone for days, but eventually they would come back. The little burro would be seen first, trotting back across the horizon, leading the submissive steed in tow. Somewhere out there on the rim of the world, that steed would become exhausted from trying to get rid of the burro, and in that moment, the burro would take mastery and become the leader. And that is the way it is with the kingdom and its heroes, isn’t it? The battle is to the determined, not to the outraged; to the committed, not to those who are merely dramatic.”

We would hope that none of us are intentionally “persecuting” or fighting against the Lord, but whether it is intentional or not, we fight Him.  Our “old man of sin” is still breathing – and he dies very, very hard.  It is easy to get discouraged and weary when wrestling with God – just ask Jacob/Israel!

We should not give up, however, for God has lashed Himself to us in the person of the Spirit.  As we try to live Christ-like lives, our flesh fights against the Spirit – bucking, kicking, tugging.  But the Spirit doesn’t give up.  God is not the one who will get weary of the struggle.  God is not the one who will give up.  Make sure that you stay lashed to the Spirit, and the battle will be won!

PRAYER: I thank you, Spirit, that you are so persistent and that in your tremendous power, you are gentle!  Teach us to yield to you sooner rather than later!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

COPYRIGHT 2011, Galen C. Dalrymple  ><}}}”>

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