DECEMBER 31, 2016

“For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty for ever beyond its reach.” 
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

MALACHI

16Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lordlistened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

17“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.(3:16-18)

REVELATION 22

6The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

7“Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

8I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

JOURNAL 

We are to worship God and live in faith and hope. By doing so we will live in love. Love is the defining characteristic of God. It is what gives hope, it is why we follow. 

As I say goodbye to another year, it is scripture that reminds me of my purpose and the purpose of life. We are here to love each other, honoring God our creator. In our obedience to him we have hope and faith and joy. It is what makes life worth living, even if things don't turn out the way we want. Even though we all face death and disappointment and heartache, we are still comforted in the hope of scripture, that promises that following God and living in hope and joy will be worth it.  

 11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 

JEREMIAH 29:11-13

DECEMBER 30, 2016

“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

DECEMBER 29, 2016

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” 
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

ZECHARIAH 10-12

1Ask the Lord for rain in the springtime;

it is the Lord who sends the thunderstorms.

He gives showers of rain to all people,

and plants of the field to everyone.

2The idols speak deceitfully,

diviners see visions that lie;

they tell dreams that are false,

they give comfort in vain.

Therefore the people wander like sheep

oppressed for lack of a shepherd.(10:1-2)

REVELATION 20

 And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. They^a had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

JOURNAL 

Scripture often can be confusing and troubling, especially if it is taken out of context. Reading through the Bible this past year has given me a greater sense of the mission and purpose of it which includes the details of the whole. 

God is the author and creator of all, we function best when we acknowledge that and seek to know him and accept his love for us. When we do this, we are saved from loneliness, fear, despair and evil...which is the absence of love. 

We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,^e 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you^f to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

COLOSSIANS 1:9-14

DECEMBER 28, 2016

“We must learn to regard people less in the light of what they do or omit to do, and more in the light of what they suffer.” 
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison

ZECHARIAH 7-9

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.’(7:8-10)

REVELATION 19

9Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” And he added, “These are the true words of God.”

10At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”

JOURNAL 

To worship God means to obey him. Obeying him means to act in love and care for those who are struggling. Throughout the entire Bible this is the constant command, not only to keep ourselves from indulging in things just for ourselves. But to not do this at the expense of others and to be aware of the suffering of others and to be proactive in serving them. 

This is beautiful and when I act in obedience to God in loving others and serving them, I receive a joy that is better than any possession. This is God's gift to us, this is the joy of the spirit. 

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.

HEBREWS 13:1-3

DECEMBER 27, 2016

“For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.” 
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

ZECHARIAH 4-6

 12Tell him this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Here is the man whose name is the Branch, and he will branch out from his place and build the temple of the Lord. 13It is he who will build the temple of the Lord, and he will be clothed with majesty and will sit and rule on his throne. And he^e will be a priest on his throne. And there will be harmony between the two.’ 14The crown will be given to Heldai,^f Tobijah, Jedaiah and Hen^g son of Zephaniah as a memorial in the temple of the Lord. 15Those who are far away will come and help to build the temple of the Lord, and you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the Lord your God.”(6:12-15)

REVELATION 18

“ ‘Come out of her, my people,’^b

so that you will not share in her sins,

so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

5for her sins are piled up to heaven,

and God has remembered her crimes.

JOURNAL 

Obedience to God is our salvation...obedience to God is our road of safety, our way out of despair, our way out of destruction. It is in this obedience that we ultimately find beauty and life and are able to see the hand of God in all that is good.

Christmas Day we watched the movie Collateral Beauty. What struck me was the truth in the statement to look for collateral beauty in the midst of every tragedy. Time and time again within every chapter of the Bible you can find hope and "collateral beauty". God is love and the beauty of this bleeds through all circumstances every day of our lives.

13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

ROMANS 15:13