DayBreaks for the Week of 3/3/24 – A Failure for the Ages

John 6:66-71 (NLT) – At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you going to leave, too?” Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. We believe them, and we know you are the Holy One of God.”  Then Jesus said, “I chose the twelve of you, but one is a devil.” He was speaking of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, one of the Twelve, who would betray him.   

Sometimes it is easy to know why things go haywire.  But at other times, it is a great mystery.  Why do people who seem to have everything going for them (like the leaders of Enron, sports or entertainment big-wigs, or even people like the Bakker’s or Jimmy Swaggart) sometimes seem to go terribly wrong?  Children from families where they are loved and cared for are still subject to going off the deep end in rebellion, drug or alcohol abuse, or a life of crime. 

But perhaps the greatest “failure” of all time can be found in the life of Judas.  This man spent something like 3 years with Jesus.  He saw miracle after miracle and heard sermon after sermon from the greatest teacher who ever lived.  He saw the blind receive sight, saw the lame walk, saw the lepers healed – and saw the dead rise (several times).  So how could he have wound up being the betrayer of the Lamb of God?

It is hard to understand.  Was it merely greed that led him to this despicable action?  Was it disillusionment when it became clear that Jesus’ kingdom wasn’t one that was destined to overthrow Rome, but rather to overthrow the dark rule of evil in the hearts of women and men?  I don’t know.  There is another possibility, too, that should not be overlooked.  Perhaps Judas never was a true follower.  Perhaps he was one of those people, like many today, who work under the “grace by association” principle.  He may have thought that he was in good standing with God because he was one of the 12 – the handpicked few.  It had to be a pretty heady thing to be hand-picked personally by Jesus. 

Many people today suffer from this “grace by association” principle, believing that because they go to church, they have a relationship with God.  What they don’t understand is that it is the other way around: we have a relationship with God, therefore we go to church to worship Him and glorify Him as a family of believers.  Judas may have had it backward.  Just being in Jesus’ presence isn’t enough.  We need to have Jesus alive and breathing the breath of life into our being, in short, we need Jesus’ presence within us.

PRAYER: Lord, save us from being prideful at having been chosen by you, and help us to do things for all the right reasons. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2024 by Galen C. Dalrymple.

DayBreaks for 2/16/22 – The Original Four-Letter Word

From the DayBreaks archive: (Galen is out of the office this week)

Ephesians 4:22-24 – You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 

From Into the Depths of God by Calvin Miller:

“Self is a word when merely spoken in the presence of other Christians rings immodest.  Why?  Because ‘self’ is the original four-letter word that had Adam grasping after the sticky sweet forbidden fruit.  Even before Adam fell before the towering ‘self’ of evil, Satan was an archangel saying, ‘I will raise my throne above the stars.’”

“By the time Jesus came into the world, the word ‘self’ had to be reckoned with and put in its place.  Self had to be denied, said Jesus.  ‘Crucified,’ said Paul.  Why?  Because the self served only self.  The ego thrives best in soil so shallow it can give no root to the purposes of God…Scripture never encourages us to negate ourselves (become nonexistent).  Scripture teaches us to deny ourselves, to abdicate our passions and get rid of those things that claim our lives with petty self-interest.”

It probably isn’t stretching the truth to much to say that sin originated with the concept of self – “me”, “mine”, “my rights”, “my desires”, etc..  Satan sought to elevate himself and get what he wanted.  Adam and Eve did the same thing – putting themselves ahead of what God desired and had planned for them. 

How do you feel about the idea of surrendering yourself and all your wants and wishes and desires to God?  Is there just a bit of reluctance there, some sense that you’re willing to surrender it all…except for this one thing or that?  You don’t mind surrendering yourself to God…as long as He leaves some of your desires and “self” behind.  Gregory the Great said it this way: “To renounce what one has is a minor thing; to renounce what one is, that is asking a lot.” 

The “new self” that God is eager for us to “put on” is a self that is like Him – that wants what He wants, not what our old self wanted.  It isn’t an easy thing to do to surrender all that you are to be made into something else.  Yet that is God’s purpose in our life and His desire for us. 

How is your “self” doing?

PRAYER: Less of “self”, Lord, and more of “You!”  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright 2022 by Galen C. Dalrymple. ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 10/05/21 – Repenting of Righteousness

For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. – Mt. 5:20

How righteous are you?  Let me reword that: how righteous do you feel you are?  Most Christians I know would give one of two responses to that question.  If they are trying to give the proper, honest answer to how righteous they felt, most would be quick to admit that they often don’t feel very righteous at all.  It is the answer that is expected from us if we can truly let our guard down and be honest about who – and what – we are: sinners with a capital S.

Yet, isn’t it also true that we still have within us a certain pride about our righteousness?  If we do something good for someone, we feel pretty good about ourselves for a while.  Maybe we sacrificed something personally to do a good turn for another person.  And when we do, if we are to be honest about this, we have a bit of pride well up within us and we like it.

Timothy Keller, the author/pastor, put it this way: “You need to repent of your righteousness.”  What was he getting at?  I think there are several things he might have meant:

FIRST: as long as we feel we are righteous on our own, we will not feel that we need Jesus’ righteousness…instead, we’ll think we can do it on our own. And that’s deadly.

SECOND: we need to guard against the pride that stalks us and causes us to puff up when we do something good for another person.  For all our protestations that we feel so unworthy and unrighteous, we do tend to think, in moments of our largesse, that we’re pretty good!!!  Pride is such a dangerous thing – and so insidious.  Even doing something good can cause something evil (pride) to spring forth in our hearts.

May we all repent of our righteousness…and rejoice only in His righteousness!

PRAYER: Father, forgive us of our seemingly endless pride.  Let us hold to no other righteous other than that of Your Son, Jesus!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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

DayBreaks for 8/17/21 – Getting Over Yourself

Psalm 23: 3 – …for His name’s sake.

Ah, yes.  Our self-image.  We are prone to image problems!  It seems that most people are either despairing because they feel they have no worth to anyone (even God) or they think they’re pretty special (after all, they know their own thoughts like no one else does) and that everyone would do well to be as wonderful, smart, beautiful or talented as they are.   Then, there are some who understand what they are in-and-of-themselves, and how that has been counterbalanced by what they are in Christ.  These are the fortunate ones that understand that though we are sinners, we can wash our robes pure in the blood of the Lamb, that God loves them passionately, and that He has declared them worthy.

Jesus clearly taught how God feels about those who are prideful: I tell you, when this man went home, he was right with God, but the Pharisee was not.  All who make themselves great will be made humble, but all who make themselves humble will be made great. (Lk. 18:14) God loves the humble, but hates the proud.  It is important to note that when humans take the initiative to make themselves great (“all who make themselves great…”) they will “be made” humble, but those who make themselves humble will “be made” great.  Is it not a much greater thing to be made something by God instead of by yourself? 

How is humility cultivated?  Max Lucado in Traveling Light offered tips on how to get over yourself to learn humility:

1. Assess yourself honestly: “Humility isn’t the same as low self-esteem.  Being humble doesn’t mean you think you have nothing to offer; it means you know exactly what you have to offer and no more.”
2. Don’t take success too seriously:“Scripture gives this warning – ‘When your…silver and gold increase…your heart will become proud.’  Counteract this pride with reminders of the brevity of life and the frailty of wealth.  Ponder your success and count your money in a cemetery, and remember that neither of the two is buried with you.”
3. Celebrate the significance of others: “In humility consider others better than yourselves.”
4. Don’t demand your own parking place:“Go sit in a seat that is not important.  When the host comes to you, he may say, ‘Friend, move up here to a more important place.’  Then all the other guests will respect you.’ (Lk. 14:10) Demanding respect is like chasing a butterfly.  Chase it, and you’ll never catch it.  Sit still, and it may light on your shoulder.”
5. Don’t announce your success before it occurs:  “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.”  (1 Kings 20:11)  Simply put: don’t brag about defeating an enemy or conquering a mountain before you’ve actually conquered it.  It is easy to brag before going into battle, but who (besides God) knows if you will fall?  If you don’t, and you come out alive, remember it was by His grace that you live to see another day.
6. Speak humbly: “Let no arrogance come from your mouth.”  (1 Sam. 2:3)
7. Live at the foot of the cross: “Paul said, ‘The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging’ (Gal. 6:14)  Do you feel a need for affirmation?  Does your self-esteem need attention?  You need only pause at the base of the cross to be reminded of this: The maker of the stars would rather die for you than live without you.”

Have you been a bit puffed up lately?  Re-read Max’s list and pray about it.  Have you been feeling down on yourself lately?  Re-read Max’s list and pray about it.  Know who you are, what you are, what you have to offer – and most of all, where it all comes from!

PRAYER: It amazes me, Jesus, how we can go from humble to proud in a heartbeat, and how we can even be proud of our humility!  Adjust our perspective and keep our self-image fully informed by Your Word.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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

DayBreaks for 8/25/20 – Barabbas and Humanity

We only encounter Barabbas in the story of the crucifixion – other than that he’s an enigma. From what little is said about him (Mark 15:7, Luke 23:19) it appears he was a robber and also a murderer – perhaps in an insurrection as he was being put to death by the Romans. He was not a good man if there be such a thing.

Yet, one morning, perhaps on the very day he was to be executed, the jailer shows up keys in hand and unlocks his cell and says, “You’re free to go.” I would imagine Barabbas was shocked. There certainly doesn’t seem to have been any “Why? I am about to get what I deserve. Thanks, but no thanks!”

I think there’s a valuable contrast here between Barabbas and the rest of us humans. He is a representative of a prisoner who was freed because someone else took his place.

How did Barabbas deal with his unexpected, but welcome, freedom? We don’t know. We don’t know if he changed his ways or not. What we do know is that he accepted the words of the jailer and skedaddled out of the prison complex. Someone has given him a get out of jail free card and he grabbed it with a tight fist and took off. He accepted the gift.

That’s where the contrast comes into play. We, too, were offered a gift of life and pardon but we spend our time trying to earn it or to pay for it through some self-denial or other heroic action rather than just saying, “Thank you!” and grabbing it like the lifeline it is.

I like what Max Lucado said, “…one of the hardest things to do is to be saved by grace. There’s something in us that reacts to God’s free gift. We have some weird compulsion to create laws, systems, and regulations that will make us “worthy” of our gift.

“Why do we do that? The only reason I can figure is pride. To accept grace means to accept it’s necessity, and most folks don’t like to do that. To accept grace also means that one realizes his despair, and most people aren’t too keen on doing that either.” – No Wonder They Call Him the Savior, Max Lucado.

I don’t know about you (well, that’s not true – I DO know about you because you’re human like me) but I need that same Get Out of Jail Free card and I will grab it with both hands. I never thought I’d say this, but I want to be like Barabbas in that regard. I’ve tried the rules and systems and self-recrimination and found that they just don’t work. They drove me in desperation to the doctrine of grace and it set me free.

Be like Barabbas – accept the gift – and you’ll have freedom!

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for standing in for us and giving  us a way out of our desperation and death. Thank you for your grace that gives us a freedom most precious! In Jesus’ name, Amen. Copyright by 2020 by Galen C. Dalrymple.  ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 3/28/19 – Walking on Water

From the DayBreaks archive, March 2009:

From WORLD Magazine, February 13, 1999: “Disneyland-style special effects are coming to the Holy Land. A private contractor will build a submerged bridge on the Sea of Galilee so pilgrims can walk on water. “It will not be too kitschy,” claimed Zeev Margalit of Israel’s National Parks Authority. This man-made miracle will arrive in Capernaum next August as part of Israel’s preparations for an anticipated 4 million visitors arriving for millennium celebrations. The crescent-shaped floating bridge will be 13 feet wide, 28 feet long, and hold up to 50 people at once. For full effect, it will sit two inches below the water – with no railings. Instead, when people fall off the bridge, boats and lifeguards will rush to save them.”

We’ve all wished we could walk on water. Maybe it was to get across a freezing-cold mountain stream without getting wet, or to avoid getting soaked in a rain puddle. Either way, it would be a great “trick”, wouldn’t it?

When I read this story about “walking on water” at the Sea of Galilee, it struck me that this is no different than what most of us do every day: we are constantly trying to elevate ourselves to “God” status. You see, only God can walk on water without help. Yet in his undertaking, Mr. Margalit is going to be creating the illusion that we can do what God does. Well, here’s a hot scoop right off the press: we can’t. It’s no different than the lie Satan told Eve in the garden: “You will be like God…”.

We want to appear holy – we can’t; we want to decide what is right and wrong – we can’t because it’s already been decided; we want to walk on water – but it’s not our calling. Or at least, not until August 1999. And even then, it will be artificial.

When we pretend to be God, we’ll fall and need to be rescued, just like those who will fall off this submerged bridge. When we try to play God, we get all wet!!!

Romans 12:3 says: “…I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment….”

We need to learn to be what we are and stop pretending to be who we aren’t. We aren’t divine. We cannot do the things that God can do. Whenever I get too big for my britches, I’m bound to fall into the water and need someone to rescue me.

Let’s let Him do the things only He can do – like saving us, forgiving us, judging, and walking on water! Let us stop fighting Him for supremacy in our life and let Him rule in our hearts as we humble ourselves before Him.

Prayer: Lord, we give You our worship as You alone are God!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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

 

DayBreaks for 1/18/19 – The Braggart

DayBreaks for 01/18/2019: The Braggart

From the DayBreaks archive, January 2009:

I recently took a “fun” quiz that was forwarded around on the Internet, and one of the questions was to name a characteristic that you hate.  I have to admit that I struggled with that one.  I don’t enjoy being around complainers (fortunately, there are very few of those in my life!) or those who are always trying to impress someone with their talk or wisdom.  Maybe that’s because I can get easily confused and I’m not smart enough to follow their big words.  People who are always talking “big talk” to impress are generally very insecure people, and they remind me of this rather humorous story:

A man was driving through the countryside when suddenly his car stalled.  He got out to see what was wrong, and as he bent over the motor, he heard a voice say, ‘That trip to Japan was wonderful last spring.’  He looked around but saw no one.  All he could see was an old horse standing in the meadow.  The horse looked straight at him and said, ‘Yes, that trip was almost as good as the one to Paris and Rome the year before.’

Well, the man became almost hysterical with excitement.  He ran to the farmhouse at the edge of the meadow, pounded on the door, took out his billfold and said, ‘I want to buy that horse at any price.’  Calmly, the farmer replied, ‘Oh, you mustn’t pay too much attention to that horse.  He hasn’t been to half the places he talks about.’

Why is it that we have such a strong tendency to promote ourselves and talk about ourselves in ways that are intended to do nothing but try to impress others?  I think James 3:13-16 gives us some really good clues: If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds will pour forth. And if you don’t brag about the good you do, then you will be truly wise! But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your hearts, don’t brag about being wise. That is the worst kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil.

Bottom line: we either are bragging about the good things we do (and why would we do that? – to get the praise of humans!), OR we are jealous and full of selfish ambition and so we brag about what we’ve done and how good we are – the “worst kind of lie” as James put it.  Such things are not motivated by God or by trying to bring Him glory, but by the Devil!

How much better off we’d be if no one was trying to impress others!!!!  Let us be content to be what and who God created us to be.  When we live that way, we bring Him glory!

PRAYER: Father, may we trust in You to honor those who are genuine in Your time and may we not pursue the praise of other humans.  Help us to be content to be what You have made us to be!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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

DayBreaks for 10/25/18 – Three Poison Pills

During the American Revolution a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers repairing a small defensive barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!” The stranger apologized, dismounted, and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, “Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, go to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again.” With that George Washington got back on horse and rode off.

Where did Washington learn such leadership skills? I have no doubt he learned them here in these words of Jesus: Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. The young corporal had these words modeled to him from the man at the top. The disciples, likewise, receive from their leader a picture of servant hood.

Mark 10:35-37 (ESV) – And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came up to him and said to him, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” And he said to them, “What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.”

This heartbreaking text comes at a crucial time in the life of Jesus – and by now you’d think the disciples might be imitating their leader just a bit. But when this happens, it is only five days before Jesus’ crucifixion. Four days before his betrayal and trial. One day before the clearing of the temple. A few hours before the Triumphal Entry. If the disciples are going to start appropriating Jesus’ teachings in their life it ought to be now. But it doesn’t happen. Moments before the most crucial events in their life they are a bickering, petty, bad-tempered quarrelsome lot. We need to learn from this not-so-flattering moment in the life of the disciples.

How is it that critical moments can be so close at hand and we are wondering what’s in this for me? It has to do with the three poison pills of position, prestige, and power.

Let’s all check ourselves to see if we’ve swallowed any of those poison pills.

PRAYER: Lord, keep us from pursuing position, prestige and power. Let us recognize poison when we see it!  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Copyright by 2018 by Galen C. Dalrymple.  ><}}}”>

DayBreaks for 3/19/18 – Fit to Stand in White Robes

From the DayBreaks archive, 2008:

Power.  How we are fascinated, yet sometimes revolted by it.  We are a species fascinated by power.  We woke up this morning in a world infatuated with it, and yet also a world where many are terrified of it.  Power will be exercised today in your home, in your school, on the playground, in courts, businesses, hospitals, in the halls of political power.  Some will use their power this day to abuse and mistreat other human beings – lording their power over them in the cruelest ways possible.  Others will use their power to feed hungry bodies, comfort broken souls and hearts, to dig wells to quench thirst.

To the human eye, it appears that evil is winning.  Good seems to be on the scaffold, while evil sits enthroned in the hearts of men and spiritual beings throughout the universe.  Our very own experiences reveal the persistence of the power of evil.  One must question (especially at times when we are suffering from the slings and arrows of evil) what will rule the day.

In the first century, if a boxing announcer had been present during the trial of Jesus, he might have said something like this: “In this corner, the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, the undefeated, invincible, indomitable Roman Empire!  And in the other corner, a Galilean carpenter in his first professional fight, Jesus of Nazareth.”  It appeared to all present to be no contest.  No one was betting on Jesus.  Rome and their mighty army looked to be a sure winner.  Even Satan, hidden from view, appeared to heavenly forces to be on the edge of yet another victory over righteousness and holiness.  But things aren’t always what they appear to be…

“There is wonderful power in the Cross of Christ. It has power to wake the dullest conscience and melt the hardest heart, to cleanse the unclean, to reconcile him who is afar off and restore him to fellowship with God, to redeem the prisoner from his bondage and lift the pauper from the dunghill, to break down the barriers which divide [people] from one another, to transform our wayward characters into the image of Christ and finally make us fit to stand in white robes before the throne of God.” John Stott, The Preacher’s Portrait 

There is a power far beyond anything this world has understood or seen.  That power was unleashed at the cross.  It is a power that can change blackened hearts, not just dark actions.  It is a power that can dump guilt and shame into the depths of the sea, never to surface again.  It is the power that can make people like us – sinners all on a great magnitude of scale – “fit to stand in white robes before the throne of God.”  Believest thou this?

PRAYER: We fall before your cross in wonder that such love exists.  May we never deny the power of the cross.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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

DayBreaks for 3/7/18 – The Horns of Pride

DayBreaks for 3/07/18: The Horns of Pride

NOTE: Galen is traveling this week.

From the DayBreaks archive,  March 2008:

Pride and self-confidence are very dangerous things.  Witness this story: “Pali, this bull has killed me.”  So said Jose Cubero, one of Spain’s most brilliant matadors, before he lost consciousness and died.  Only 21 years old, he had been enjoying a spectacular career.  However, in this 1958 bullfight, Jose made a tragic mistake.  He thrust his sword a final time into a bleeding, delirious bull, which then collapsed.  Considering the struggle finished, Jose turned to the crowd to acknowledge the applause.  The bull, however, was not dead.  It rose and lunged at the unsuspecting matador, its horn piercing his back and puncturing his heart.

The matador trusted in himself to have killed the bull.  It appeared to be dead.  Jose was only focused on one thing at that time: hearing and acknowledging the applause of the crowd.  His pride did him in – it caused him to become careless and it cost him his life.

Romans 8.13b-14: … but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 

In his contest with the bull, Jose with his own sword and power thought he’d put to death the beast.  There are many parallels and some differences between his struggle and ours:

FIRST: it was possible for him to kill the beast under his own power.  You and I proudly think we can defeat sin on our own, but we cannot.  The Romans passage quoted above says we must “by the Spirit” put to death the sin-beast.  If we trust in ourselves and our strength to do it, it will rise up again;

SECOND: the creature Jose fought was external while ours is internal.  The bull could be watched and probably as it rose to it’s feet while he had his back turned, the crowd went wild trying to get his attention and warn him.  Jose probably thought that they were just cheering even louder, so he took more bows, unaware of the danger behind him.  Our fight is with the pride within us.  Sometimes, no one can see it but us, but that doesn’t mean pride isn’t deadly.  In some ways, because our pride may be invisible to others, it is all the more deadly because it is so insidious.  We, like Jose, may be too busy taking our bows for some great act or service when that which we thought was dead comes back to haunt us;

THIRD: if we are too attuned to the crowd (the world) we will fail to see the danger of our pride.  The world doesn’t care if we are proud – it just wants us to fall.  The world (and Satan) wants us to rely on ourselves and our power and to grow prideful.   

FOURTH: when we attempt to stop sinning it is like thrusting the sword into a bleeding, delirious bull.  Satan will become enraged with our desire to serve God and be done with sin.  He will find any way possible to get back at us, including using pride about our “victory”.

Just when we think we are done with pride and we turn to accept the congratulations of the crowd, pride stabs us in the back.  We should never consider pride dead before we are.

PRAYER: Teach us humility, Lord, and drown out the cheers of the crowd around us so we can hear only Your words of love and warning.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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