DECEMBER 30, 2017

“Remember, Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” 
― Stephen King

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.(14:9)

REVELATION 21

1Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”^a for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 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 

A new heaven and a new earth. The promise and hope given to those that are suffering and oppressed. The hope for those that are facing certain death in this world. The importance of hope cannot be denied. It is filled throughout the Bible and it is spoken of in prophecy and by Jesus himself. Hope is the sustaining message of the Bible. 

Psychologically I know this to be true. We humans need hope, we need something to believe in...

Hope keeps our minds at ease, lowers stress and improves physical health. Researchers studying heart-disease patients found that optimists were more likely than nonoptimistic patients to take vitamins, eat low-fat diets and exercise, thereby reducing their overall coronary risk. A study of cancer patients revealed that pessimistic patients under the age of 60 were more likely to die within eight months than nonpessimistic patients of the same initial health, status and age. (TIME, May 28, 2011)

This is what propelled us from Cave Dwellers to architects of modern cities. It is the distinguishable characteristic that separates us from animals...it is the calling of our soul for something better than what currently exists. 

11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

ROMANS 12:11-12

NOVEMBER 30, 2017

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints
on the sand of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait .” 
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Voices of the Night

EZEKIEL 43-44

23They are to teach my people the difference between the holy and the common and show them how to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.(44:23) 

2 PETER 2

17These people are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. 18For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of the flesh, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error.

JOURNAL 

When life is really lived well...it is lived in consciousness of others. To live without regard for the influence one may have on another human being is to live carelessly. God makes it very clear that once he inhabits our hearts and souls then we represent him to the world. This is definitely a sobering reality. 

This is a reality that often juxtaposed to the train wrecks played out by public figures becomes all the more sobering. A life lived for what it can attain, rather than for what it can give is a life of darkness. Yet often the ideal that's played up via advertising and by public figures herald adulation over service. As a result what is promoted and rewarded are those that achieve rather than those who give, those who conquer rather than those who comfort, those who acquire rather than those who sacrifice. 

Quietly and humbly doing God's work is no longer the ideal...but rather self-promotion, arrogance, manipulation and power seem to be the characteristics of many of our leaders and heroes. These characteristics lead to using people rather than serving them. It leads to people being consumed with how many likes they have on a digital page rather than tending to the needs around them. Everything becomes focused on appearance rather than true spiritual depth. 

These kinds of actions are the polar opposite of the life Christ lived and the way he commanded us to live. How did we become so blind to our own arrogance and self-absorption? 

1“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

MATTHEW 6:1-4

NOVEMBER 29, 2017

“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

EZEKIEL 41-42

1Then the man brought me to the main hall and measured the jambs; the width of the jambs was six cubits^a on each side.^b2The entrance was ten cubits^c wide, and the projecting walls on each side of it were five cubits^d wide. He also measured the main hall; it was forty cubits long and twenty cubits wide.^e(41:1-2) 

2 PETER 1

3His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

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.

10Therefore, my brothers and sisters,^a make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

JOURNAL 

I guess in many ways I grew up with a delusional belief in God. I think it was mainly because several preachers I was exposed to tended to use scripture for manipulative purposes. They painted a picture of the Christian life as one that resulted in guaranteed health, wealth and success. 

Yet what I have found in scripture is confirmed in the 46 years I have spent on this planet.  We are only promised Heaven in Heaven or hell in hell. Those are the only definites...what happens here on earth is a grab bag of good and bad experiences...some will have more good than bad while others get more bad than good. The rhyme or reason is never a guarantee. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good. There is even scripture that confirms that some people will enjoy long life and success and wealth while on earth...even though they are selfish, greedy and full of hate. There is also scripture that confirms that those that follow God will experience, suffering, rebuke, rejection and horrible death. 

Jesus, the disciples, Paul...all experienced extreme suffering. They hoped in something far beyond them, far beyond their own lives and even beyond the lives of their wives, children, friends etc. They hoped and lived for a future kingdom where love and joy ruled. Where happiness would never be measured by how much money or toys you had but rather because you were free to love and serve others. 

When I read the letters of Paul and Peter and the words of Jesus I find that they are calling believers to a life of joy regardless of circumstance. They are calling for us to live beyond what happens to us. To serve, sacrifice, love and forgive no matter the situation but especially...in the midst of persecution, suffering and death. There is evil in the world...we are promised that it will exist until the earth is completely restored, we can find it everywhere, but we also are promised that God is everywhere and he will never leave us.

Many times when I reach a point in this journey where life seems to have turned for the worst, I am tempted to become bitter and angry and toss in the towel. Yet the miracle of God and scripture is that he always calls me back from the ledge...always reminds me that I am here for a reason and to rest in his love. He always comforts me with the lives of my boys, the love of my wife and family and the fact that everywhere I turn I can find evidence of his grace and love. But I find it most convincingly in the quiet of my own heart and mind...when all seems lost yet he shines through the darkness.

27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

JOHN 14:27

NOVEMBER 28, 2017

“The only calibration that counts is how much heart people invest, how much they ignore their fears of being hurt or caught out or humiliated. And the only thing people regret is that they didn't live boldly enough, that they didn't invest enough heart, didn't love enough. Nothing else really counts at all.” 
― Ted Hughes, Letters of Ted Hughes

EZEKIEL 40

1In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth of the month, in the fourteenth year after the fall of the city—on that very day the hand of the Lord was on me and he took me there. 2In visions of God he took me to the land of Israel and set me on a very high mountain, on whose south side were some buildings that looked like a city. 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.”(40:1-4) 

1 PETER 5

1To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 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.

5In the same way, you who are younger, submit yourselves to your elders. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

“God opposes the proud

but shows favor to the humble.”^a

6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

JOURNAL 

Here is Peter writing to those who have been displaced and who are struggling. Here he writes as a witness to all that Christ suffered. Here he writes as one who devoted his life and spent it intimately with Christ. These final words of the letter are sobering and a reminder that we are here for a purpose and to do a job. We are here to serve, we are here to be examples and to encourage. We are here to be humble and submit. We are here to do, take action...although he promises that God will restore us...we will get everything we ever deeply desired...which is union with God. 

The past few days I have been struck by the brevity of life and that any moment may be my last. I thought about all the times I have shrunk back from problems and challenges. I thought of all the times anxiety and insecurity got the best of me. What if that had been my last breath. What if that had been the message of my life. That thought terrifies me because it is so final. When my last breath occurs on this planet, I will not be able to have another one. It will be final and so what do I want it to be spent doing? 

So then what really gets me are the times of sloth and meaningless wastes of time.  Mornings are typically good for me...I do my devotion, read, meditate and pray. It gets me started, moving in a good positive direction...then as the day wears on I begin to lose focus, perspective etc. I start getting caught up in the world and all that is going on in it...later at night tends to be the worst for me...especially if I get consumed in television or social media.   Before I know it several hours have gone by and it's 11:30. I'm now sitting on my judge seat demanding entertainment and casting judgment on the world. 

I know that this is exactly the opposite of what God calls me to do. If these were my last moments...what a waste they would be. This is precious time...I don't know why I'm not more conscious of it. However as I read scripture it's clear...   

8Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

Thank you Father for the promise that you will restore me, and give me strength. You will help to redeem these moments.

17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

ACTS 9:17-19

NOVEMBER 27, 2017

“True freedom is impossible without a mind made free by discipline.” 
― Mortimer J. Adler

EZEKIEL 38-39

25“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will now restore the fortunes of Jacob^d and will have compassion on all the people of Israel, and I will be zealous for my holy name. 26They will forget their shame and all the unfaithfulness they showed toward me when they lived in safety in their land with no one to make them afraid. 27When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the countries of their enemies, I will be proved holy through them in the sight of many nations. 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. 29I will no longer hide my face from them, for I will pour out my Spirit on the people of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord.”(39:25-29) 

1 PETER 4

 Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 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. 11If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

JOURNAL 

The discipline of relationship with God truly creates freedom. It creates freedom because it frees the mind to not be consumed with the distractions of the world. It frees the mind to have one focus and as a result all other things get a proper perspective. In this state of mind...fear and anxiety no longer have priority. 

Being "alert and of sober mind" means to be focused in the present. It means that God calls me to pray with an accurate understanding of my life, strengths, limitations and circumstance. Peter truly lays out the fact that living a life of a believer is one of joy, action, love, service and confident strength. All of this comes from the calm assurance that God is at work and that all things ultimately work to his glory. 

To truly live this out requires a surrender of all those parts of me that are defensive and driven to affirm and protect myself. This is the beauty of scripture...I can see that God sets a high standard, one that is impossible to reach without surrendering my entire being to his purpose.  Thank you Father for the kick in the pants and also for loving me in ways that are far greater than I can comprehend. 

16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

EPHESIANS 3:16-19

NOVEMBER 26, 2017

“The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.” 
― G.K. Chesterton

EZEKIEL 36-37

33“ ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35They will say, “This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.” 36Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.’(36:33-36) 

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 

Watching the Iron Bowl yesterday and scrolling through social media and comments...it's eye-opening how caught up our state and the world get over college kids playing a sport. It is a lot of fun and in essence it brings us together in a relatively peaceful way. The game and rivalry gives people something to put their energy into, something to care about, something to talk about. It gives people a chance to choose sides, compete and come together in support of defeating an "enemy". 

However...the morning after, reading scripture...the sobering reality is that God wants so much more for us. He wants us to be passionate in ways that far exceed any allegiance to a college. He wants us to be consumed with loving our neighbors and transforming our world.  
Reading these verses in Peter...the one that truly pulls the rug out from under me is to "repay evil with blessing". Really? To bless those who do evil? Really? The more I think on this the more troubling it is.

So how would this play out in our world...in my life? I think it starts with prayer and it starts with the heart. This is hard because when I  am honest with myself...I don't wish for blessing on those who have harmed me or "wronged" me. I wish for blessings for me and those I love and I wish harm on those that are a threat or those I deem to be evil or wrong. I think this is normal and this is how most people operate. When I look at scripture I see the same thoughts and desires...especially in the Old Testament. 

But then I look to the New Testament and all that changes...Jesus' sermon on the mount gives a completely different take on how we are to behave and how we are to love. It turns my natural desires and conventional wisdom on its head. It demands that we "love our enemies". Oh how far away from this is my heart...yet I know that although God forgives my sin and anger and secret thoughts...he demands that I turn from them and follow him down a different path.

Turning from this way of thinking requires not only forgiveness of my enemies but also forgiveness of myself. In many ways I have been my own worst enemy. My actions have caused more heartache to me than anything anyone else has done. Therefore since Christ has forgiven me I must first forgive myself...then I MUST forgive others. Wow...your word is perfect...it's hard, but it's good and the more I follow it the greater is my joy because your spirit truly dwells in and works through me. 

43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighborⁱ and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

MATTHEW 5:43-48