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.

Friday, November 12, 2015

“Reflect upon your present blessings -- of which every man has many -- not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” ~ Charles Dickens

EZEKIAL 1-3

 8But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people.”(3:8-9)

HEBREWS 9

 14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,^c so that we may serve the living God!

15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.(9:14-15)

JOURNAL

Another day. I am alive, my body works. I can breathe the air, my legs are functioning and allowing me to run, all my limbs are working.  It is a Friday with a weekend ahead of me. What a great day and what a blessed life. 

Thursday, November 11, 2015

“The truth." Dumbledore sighed. "It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.” ~ J.K. Rowling

LAMENTATIONS 1-2

19Arise, cry out in the night,

as the watches of the night begin;

pour out your heart like water (2:19)

HEBREWS 7

26Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. 27Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. 28For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever. (7:26-28)



JOURNAL

God is always present...no matter the time of day or the circumstance. God is always there to comfort and give rest and wisdom and remind me of my purpose and his love. I do not need to depend on the failings of humanity for the deep needs of my heart, mind and soul. God is constant and will never fail to be there when I call and will never fail to give me all that I need...even when that day for departure comes. His love and purpose are perfect and complete.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

“Love is so much more than some random, euphoric feeling. And real love isn’t always fluffy, cute, and cuddly. More often than not, real love has its sleeves rolled up, dirt and grime smeared on its arms, and sweat dripping down its forehead. Real love asks us to do hard things—to forgive one another, to support each other’s dreams, to comfort in times of grief, or to care for family. Real love isn’t easy—and it’s nothing like the wedding day—but it’s far more meaningful and wonderful.”
~ Seth Adam Smith

LAMENTATIONS 3-5

19I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

20I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.

21Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

22Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

23They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him.”

HEBREWS 8

1Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by a mere human being.



JOURNAL

It is comforting to see the juxtaposition of the verses in Lamentations.  Acknowledgement of the disappointment and suffering but that there is hope and that each morning it renews, his compassion is fresh.  This is balm to my soul. 

It is also affirming because I always have the promise of God at every waking moment. I can go to God in my mind no matter where I am, no matter the circumstance and know that I have a purpose and a reason for existing. I can know that I am loved and never alone. This gives me comfort to face trials that seem to threaten and bring waves of fear.

Sunday, November 8, 2015

“Courage is found in unlikely places.” 
~ J.R.R. Tolkien

JEREMIAH 51-52

58This is what the Lord Almighty says:

“Babylon’s thick wall will be leveled

and her high gates set on fire;

the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,

the nations’ labor is only fuel for the flames.”

HEBREWS 6

13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,[b] having patiently waited, obtained the promise.



JOURNAL

God's promises are secure in that we don't know the outcome, but we do know that it will be good in the end. This is the hope, this is the faith in things to come and that the end of all will glorify God and will confirm our own existence as an integral part.  

This to me is impossible to fully wrap my head around, however there is something deep and mysterious about it all that confirms in my heart that it is true. If I take away the guilt and the trivial and the social aspects of faith and boil it down to the core of my own being...something is there...it is not just me alone. It is then confirmed in scripture, for this is the way that all the prophets and Christ himself confirmed the hope and faith. It was through their personal prayers. 

In those prayers, they all found the faith, courage, power and hope to move forward in obedience and love.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

“Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.” ~ Judy Blume 

JEREMIAH 40-42

19“Remnant of Judah, the Lord has told you, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Be sure of this: I warn you today 20that you made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the Lord your God and said, ‘Pray to the Lord our God for us; tell us everything he says and we will do it.’ 21I have told you today, but you still have not obeyed the Lord your God in all he sent me to tell you. 22So now, be sure of this: You will die by the sword, famine and plague in the place where you want to go to settle.”

HEBREWS 2

17For this reason he had to be made like them,^k fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.



JOURNAL

People continually came to Jeremiah to seek truth and God's word, yet they only wanted to accept what they wanted to hear. There was always an agenda, never really honest searching of truth. I love this passage in Hebrews because it confirms that Christ understands our struggles and he suffered in temptation and that he is there to help us through our own struggles.

This morning I resonate with the struggle. So often there is a conflict between what I want to do and what I know is best. It all has to do with fear...either fear of future loss or fear of immediate suffering. That fear is my enemy, not life, but the fear that inhabits my mind. I have learned that this fear can be encountered and faced and overcome, however it requires that I see it for what it truly is and ultimately trust the truth of God. This is not easy and is a daily war, yet when I face it and calmly see it for what it is...I seem to gain strength and resolve to move in the direction of trust and action.

Wednesday, November 4, 2015

“I honestly believe that people of my generation despise authenticity, mostly because they're all so envious of it.” ~ Chuck Klosterman

JEREMIAH 38-39

4Then the officials said to the king, “This man should be put to death. He is discouraging the soldiers who are left in this city, as well as all the people, by the things he is saying to them. This man is not seeking the good of these people but their ruin.”

HEBREWS 1

1In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.



JOURNAL

Jeremiah continued to do one thing and one thing only...obey God and tell the truth. He suffered as a result but was ultimately vindicated. Yet even in the face of death he trusted. Jeremiah refused to go against what he knew was true. Here in Hebrews, the author confirms that Christ was the authority of all. 

It is amazing to think that the incarnation of the brilliance and divinity of God could be rejected, tortured and murdered over fear and jealousy. What does that say about the uncertainty of this world and the reality that people are flawed and damaged and don't realize what they do.  I think of the words of Christ as he hung on the cross..34Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”

I also think of my own ways and how I fear things that I do not know or understand. I make judgements of people and circumstances and really have no true basis for those judgements. It helps me to realize more and more that my energy is best spent seeking God and seeking truth. For the more I focus on the uncertainty of tomorrow and ways to remedy unrealized fears the more likely I am to betray my own truth.