Wednesday, December 30, 2015

“Turn around and believe that the good news that we are loved is better than we ever dared hope, and that to believe in that good news, to live out of it and toward it, to be in love with that good news, is of all glad things in this world the gladdest thing of all. Amen, and come Lord Jesus.”  ~ Frederick Buechner

ZECHARIAH 13-14

9The Lord will be king over the whole earth. On that day there will be one Lord, and his name the only name.

REVELATION 21

 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’^b or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”



JOURNAL

It is God who makes all things right. It is God who transforms. To know that it is not solely dependent on me and my efforts, brings a peace and joy. It allows me to breathe easy and to rest in the knowledge that it is God that works all things for good.

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

“Stop trying to protect, to rescue, to judge, to manage the lives around you . . . remember that the lives of others are not your business. They are their business. They are God’s business . . . even your own life is not your business. It also is God’s business. Leave it to God. It is an astonishing thought. It can become a life-transforming thought . . . unclench the fists of your spirit and take it easy . . . What deadens us most to God’s presence within us, I think, is the inner dialogue that we are continuously engaged in with ourselves, the endless chatter of human thought. I suspect that there is nothing more crucial to true spiritual comfort . . . than being able from time to time to stop that chatter . . . ” ~ Frederich Buechner 

ZECHARIAH 10-12

12I will strengthen them in the Lord

and in his name they will live securely,”

REVELATION 20

4I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God.



JOURNAL

It is a great reminder to know that my life is not all that matters. To know that there is a greater story and I can play a part in that greater story.  I play my part well when I accept God's love for me and in turn give that love to others. It really is not as complicated as I make it, it only becomes complicated when I am tempted to make things and circumstances more important than obeying God and loving others.

Sunday, December 28, 2015

“The true definition of mental illness is when the majority of your time is spent in the past or future, but rarely living in the realism of NOW.”  ~ Shannon L. Alder

ZECHARIAH 7-9

‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? 6And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?

8And the word of the Lord came again to Zechariah: 9“This is what the Lord Almighty said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. 10Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot evil against each other.’

REVELATION 19

“Praise our God,

all you his servants,

you who fear him,

both great and small!”



JOURNAL

Being present in the current moment is one of the most difficult things for me to do. Largely it is because I have become conditioned to consuming my mind with the past and the future. It is a habitual response to fear and uncertainty. One that serves to help me but one that has definitely gone awry and does not serve me as needed.

To focus my mind on the present and on the righteousness and goodness of God and his creation is all my mind needs in order to live in joy and to accomplish good in every hour of every day. If I fear God and surrender to his truth then man can hold no fear over me. Unknown circumstances or unknown responses from men can never move me to irrational or hasty actions if my heart and mind are sold out to God and the present moment.

Monday, December 14, 2015

“To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.”  ~ Elizabeth Gilbert 

AMOS 1-3

8The lion has roared—

who will not fear?

The Sovereign Lord has spoken—

who can but prophesy?

REVELATION 5

“You are worthy to take the scroll

and to open its seals,

because you were slain,

and with your blood you purchased for God

persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,

and they will reign^b on the earth.”



JOURNAL

This is a healthy reminder that God loves all the world and all people from every tribe and language and nation. Jesus' death was for all and God has made them to be part of his Kingdom. It is this same love that seeks me out and forgives me of all the ways I sin. It is in this spirit that I am loved and saved.

Friday, December 11, 2015

“Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” 
~ Marilyn Monroe

HOSEA 9-11

12Sow righteousness for yourselves,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes

and showers his righteousness on you.

REVELATION 2

These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. 9I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich!

JOURNAL

Trusting God is  the healthiest thing that someone can do. Faith in God is the antidote to addiction and co-dependency because it does not use people or things to fill needs of self-worth and identity.

Of course this is far easier said than done...as our culture tends to push us to the brink of always pretending to be something we are not.  That never seems to work out the way I would want...usually though not to the extreme of the following clip.  Oh how awesome to live life as honest and authentic as Buddy...

Thursday, December 10, 2015

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” 
~ Corrie ten Boom

HOSEA 5-8

For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

REVELATION 1

3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.



JOURNAL

Most days it is difficult to bring my mind back to the present moment and to clear it of all worries, doubts etc. Yet this is key in grounding myself in the presence of God. God's word has a way of clearing all of the clutter  and getting me into the mindset of being present. It is amazing how clear things can be and become.

It is in these moments that I realize the smallness of my life compared to the infinite of God. Yet this doesn't diminish my significance but rather deepens it. I don't have to become, I just simply can be...

This clip from Apollo 13 is such a great reminder of how clearing the clutter and unfortunate circumstances often provide the clear path home.

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

“God will not look you over for medals, degrees or diplomas but for scars.” 
~ Elbert Hubbard

HOSEA 1-4

2When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord.” 3So he married Gomer daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and bore him a son...

1The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.”

JUDE

8In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. 9But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”^d 10Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them.

20But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

22Be merciful to those who doubt; 23save others by snatching them from the fire; to others show mercy, mixed with fear—hating even the clothing stained by corrupted flesh.^f



JOURNAL

The journey of life is wild and full of seeming contradictions and struggles and difficulties. Yet it is designed by God and is to be lived under that authority and in trusting God, not in merely following my primal instincts. We have been given a brain and an ability to think and choose. Therefore we have the power to follow and choose God, who has given and chosen us.

This is our calling and it involves being pure in the midst of unspeakable evil and chaos. 

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde

EZEKIEL 47-48

“And the name of the city from that time on will be:

THE LORD IS THERE.”

1 JOHN 1

5This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^b sin

JOURNAL

God's presence is the presence of life, passion, love. It is the only true life and it is what drives me to righteousness. It is what drives me to truth. It is what sustains me and moves me into difficulty instead of the easier path. It is a driving force that is far beyond my understanding. It is what helps me to distinguish and realize that this force is far beyond me and far greater than my life. 

To walk in the light of God is to be changed and to be moved to love others. If I am not then I am not walking in the light of God.

Sunday, November 29, 2015

“Shame derives its power from being unspeakable.” ~ Brene Brown 

EZEKIEL 41-41

 20So he measured the area on all four sides. It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long and five hundred cubits wide, to separate the holy from the common.

2 PETER 1

5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.



JOURNAL

Shame is such a powerful enemy and one that will rob me of power if I give in to it's claws of doubt, insecurity and fear. There is a difference between the divine and the ordinary. It is the power and love of God. Embracing that means actually believing it. It is easy at times to just go through the motions of life, do what comes natural, but that often means allowing the past and shame to take over. It is hard to fight the past to put a separation between the old and the new, I think this is why there was an actual division in the temple. There often needs to be a visual and physical reference to the old nature vs. the holy. 

I know this is true in my own life as well, things tend to have more permanence when I mentally physically and emotionally create a separation between the old shame and the new freedom and love. Family holidays often have a way of reeling you back into old wounds...hilarious clip from "Four Christmases"...

Saturday, November 28, 2015

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” ~ C.S. Lewis

EZEKIEL 40

3He took me there, and I saw a man whose appearance was like bronze; he was standing in the gateway with a linen cord and a measuring rod in his hand. 4The man said to me, “Son of man, look carefully and listen closely and pay attention to everything I am going to show you, for that is why you have been brought here. Tell the people of Israel everything you see.”

1 PETER 5

2Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; 3not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.



JOURNAL

More often than not it is my experience that the message of God is quite different that what is often portrayed in my own actions and those of the church. Too often I do not truly reflect God's heart and his intention. What a tragedy! God is the only God and truth, while it can be seen and experienced through another, is only purely found in God and his word. 

It is also a reminder to not expect too much of any individual or the church itself. All are flawed in human failure, yet if I look closely I can see and find the heartbeat of God. This is my task, to look for God in his creation, rather than judging creation and indicting God. And ultimately to seek God and God alone when I am lonely and afraid. 

Friday, November 27, 2015

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.” ~ Lao Tzu 

EZEKIEL 38-39

 28Then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for though I sent them into exile among the nations, I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind.

1 PETER 4

 8Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.



JOURNAL

In almost every chapter in every book of the bible the ultimate theme and command is to love.  It covers over sins and is the overriding characteristic of God. It is the reason Christ died and is driving force behind creation. Love is what ultimately drives the world. It is the source of our passion and our deepest longings. The absence of it creates a multitude of tragedies and horrors and yet it's presence can cover and heal the most horrible wrongs.

THANKSGIVING; Thursday, November 26, 2015

“We would worry less if we praised more. Thanksgiving is the enemy of discontent and dissatisfaction.” ~ H.A. Ironside 

EZEKIEL 36-37

26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.

1 PETER 3

8Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. 9Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10For,

“Whoever would love life

and see good days

must keep their tongue from evil

and their lips from deceitful speech.

11They must turn from evil and do good;

they must seek peace and pursue it.

12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous

and his ears are attentive to their prayer,

but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”^a

JOURNAL

Thanksgiving Day...so many great memories for me. Family and football and eating way too much. All in all it reminds me of the preciousness of life and that it is a gift no matter the circumstances. Every morning there is opportunity for connection and love and to build bridges of hope with other people. More than anything the gift of life and this very moment is truly a gift. This day is for me that reminder that having air in my lungs, the sun rising, my heart beating are truly miracles that I did not have to arrange for.  Friends and family...it's all a gift even the negative.  I love this clip...reminder that life in all it's complexity is a wonderful gift. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

“A friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.” 
~ Elbert Hubbard 

EZEKIEL 34-35

‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? 3You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 4You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.

1 PETER 2

23When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25For “you were like sheep going astray,”^f but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.



JOURNAL

These verses speak of the responsibility we have as believers in both positions of power and in positions of weakness. For when we are in positions of power we are to look after and care for those under us, those who are in need. Likewise when we are in positions of weakness we are to serve with gratitude and realize that we have a shepherd who does not abandon us and will strengthen our hearts.

It is in this trust and the realization that most days I experience both positions in one way or another. If I trust God I will lean further into him and his word for direction and wisdom so that I will respond in ways that heal, honor and bring glory to the goodness of God and the reflection of that goodness in his creation.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

“Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.

EZEKIEL 32-33

30“As for you, son of man, your people are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, ‘Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.’ 31My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. 32Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. (33:30-32)

1 PETER 1

22Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.^b 23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,

“All people are like grass,

and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;

the grass withers and the flowers fall,

25but the word of the Lord endures forever.”^c

JOURNAL

I resonate at times in my life of hearing for entertainment purposes not as a result of my soul and life truly being dependent upon the word of God.  I tend to crave and want when my life is uncertain and in shambles. Yet it is obvious that my life is but a whisp and a vapor yet it is also of extreme value to God. It is both insignificant and significant. 

Living within the juxtaposition of those two realities is the secret of having immense power and gracious humility. For it is only in living a life surrendered to God's love and truth that I can experience true Joy.

Thursday, November 19, 2015

“We are all failures- at least the best of us are.”
~ J.M. Barrie

EZEKIEL 20-21

 19I am the Lord your God; follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 20Keep my Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”

JAMES 1

2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^a whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

JOURNAL

I love how in James in compares obedience to identity. Looking into the word, and being moved and changed by it will not allow you to forget.  Therefore it will move you to act and be changed. 

Obedience is really for us, not for God. God will never be changed but we will be as we connect to the author of our heart and soul. I must have this connection every moment of every day or else I begin to wane and lose heart. This connection happens in my prayers and in connecting back to truth which is the word.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”~ John Bunyan 

EZEKIEL 17-19

He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live. 18But his father will die for his own sin, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people.

HEBREWS 13

1Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.



JOURNAL

Sunday, November 15, 2015

“Life was not longer something to endure, but to live. ”
~ Hubert Selby Jr.

EZEKIAL 7-9

Their silver and gold

will not be able to deliver them

in the day of the Lord’s wrath.

It will not satisfy their hunger

or fill their stomachs,

for it has caused them to stumble into sin. (7:19)

HEBREWS 10:24-39

23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...



JOURNAL

To wake up each and every day and cling to seeking truth and obedience to God means that the old scripts of selfishness, hatred, revenge, bitterness and deceit will not be followed. It means that the spirit of God and love will occupy my thoughts and my objective for life and living.

My pursuit will no longer be how to feel better and how to meet my needs but will take confidence in that following God will meet all my needs and will fulfill my purpose in a way that will bring me a sense of satisfaction and joy. This will then give me the courage to live out the rest of my days in faithfull obedience. To keep going when it's hard, even when the world does not reward that devotion and obedience.

Saturday, November 13, 2015

“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.” ~ Tom Bodett

EZEKIAL 4-6

Then they will know that I am the Lord. (6:14)

HEBREWS 10:1-23

22let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.



JOURNAL

We are free to be all that God made us to be, both with our past and in our present moment. This means that we no longer live in guilt and shame but rather are able to be free to live as he created us to live. This therefore gives us hope and confidence to love others and offer them the same hope and love them in the same way.