SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

“The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven..” 
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

ISAIAH 7-9

 6For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7Of the greatness of his government and peace

there will be no end.

He will reign on David’s throne

and over his kingdom,

establishing and upholding it

with justice and righteousness

from that time on and forever.

The zeal of the Lord Almighty

will accomplish this. (9:6-7)

GALATIANS 4

6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba,^c Father.” 7So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

JOURNAL 

I have one life to live and chances are at best I've lived half of it. I have today, how do I want to live it? What do I want to make most important? Do I live as a slave or as a free child of God? How is it that I so often live life enslaved to old ways of thinking? To me in this day and this time this is the slavery I fall under. It is not to a government or person or people it is to a mindset that is bound in anxiety and fear. It comes from a community and a nation that offers counterfeit gods as the answer to peace and joy. Those counterfeit Gods are material possessions, positions of honor, approval of the masses. This is not to say that material possessions, awards and the applause of others is wrong. It only becomes so when it takes the place of God. When it promises to be more than what it is.

There is such a fine line...it is easy to go too far in rejecting the counterfeit as gods, which can lead to judgement, bitterness, isolation and hatred... just as it is easy to buy in and hope in their false promises. I think back to the old Budweiser commercials that say "this is as good as it gets". No it's not...it is good to connect with friends around a fire and enjoy a good beer. That is an awesome blessing. But it isn't the beer or the fire or the friends. It ultimately is God that makes it all possible. It is his spirit of love that unites us that makes the beer and the fire and the friends into something that is more than the those things individually.

12Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

COLOSSIANS 3:12-14

SEPTEMBER 25, 2018

“Because here’s something that’s weird but true: we don’t actually know what a positive or negative experience is. Some of the most difficult and stressful moments of our lives also end up being the most formative and motivating. Some of the best and most gratifying experiences of our lives are also the most distracting and demotivating. Don’t trust your conception of positive/negative experiences. All that we know for certain is what hurts in the moment and what doesn’t. And that’s not worth much.” 
― Mark Manson

ISAIAH 4-6

11Woe to those who rise early in the morning

to run after their drinks,

who stay up late at night

till they are inflamed with wine.

12They have harps and lyres at their banquets,

pipes and timbrels and wine,

but they have no regard for the deeds of the Lord,

no respect for the work of his hands. (5:11-12)

GALATIANS 3

26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

JOURNAL 

There is a humility that is often overlooked. I see it everyday in sports and stories are filled with the tale of the underdog who overcomes the favorite. I love these stories and yet I often forget the wisdom they impart. Any one of us at anytime are subject to being humbled by another human being. It is for our own good that this possibility exists. For it keeps us living in surrender to God and in a mindset that honors all God's creations. Yes even our enemies.

All stories become good stories because they impart eternal truths. Life is a gift, it is fragile and is not a dragon to be slayed or a mountain to be summited. It is a journey to be experienced, filled with triumphs and heartaches and good times and bad, sickness and health, life and death. If we live long enough we get to experience it all and in doing so we get the beauty of the gift itself. Yes there are things to conquer and there are times when we are conquered and if we really live life well then we embrace it all.

17“Blessed is the one whom God corrects;

so do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.^a

18For he wounds, but he also binds up;

he injures, but his hands also heal.

JOB 5:17-18

SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

“Decision-making based on emotional intuition, without the aid of reason to keep it in line, pretty much always sucks. You know who bases their entire lives on their emotions? Three-year-old kids. And dogs. You know what else three-year-olds and dogs do? Shit on the carpet.” 
― Mark Manson

ISAIAH 1-3

17Learn to do right; seek justice.

Defend the oppressed.^a

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

plead the case of the widow. (1:17)

GALATIANS 2

 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”^e

JOURNAL 

What do I care most about? What are the true allegiances of my heart? Do I daily surrender to seeking God and glorifying him in all that I do?

Far too often the answer to that question are things other than God and his word. Too often my heart is tilted to the things that give me immediate benefit. Too often I am compelled to act in ways that benefit me in surface temporal ways. When I come before God through scripture I can easily discern my waywardness. I can easily see how I have followed roads that are not of God's design. This is the reason that coming to God each morning and throughout the day are absolutely necessary. It activates my God given ability to reason and see my emotions and fears for what they are. For to not leaves me solely to my emotions, fears and habits.

Thank you Father for your word, your spirit and another day to live and glorify you in building your Kingdom.

13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

MATTHEW 7:13-14

SEPTEMBER 23, 2018

“A disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.” 
― Dalai Lama XIV, The Art of Happiness

SONG OF SOLOMON 6-8

7Many waters cannot quench love;

rivers cannot sweep it away.

If one were to give

all the wealth of one’s house for love,

it^c would be utterly scorned. (8:7) 

GALATIANS 1

10Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

JOURNAL 

Doing meditation this morning I was overcome by the reality of being able to sit still while certain thoughts and emotions came and went. I could literally see them in my mind as passing cars. My temptation was to reach out them and get in and possess them or to either run from them in fear. Yet I was able just to sit and watch and calmly not react.

Even now as I sit I have a compulsion and an energy to get up and walk around. However I am learning to let that compulsion go and to sit here and remain focused on typing and doing my devotion. Doing this level of discipline is what has been sorely missing in my life. I have tended to fight my emotions...at times going wherever my emotions took me and or trying to create and or squash or run from them. The reality of knowing that I can stand apart from them and then decide whether to indulge them or to simply let them pass is freeing. It gives me confidence and it keeps me focused in the heart of God.

1The wicked flee though no one pursues,

but the righteous are as bold as a lion.

2When a country is rebellious, it has many rulers,

but a ruler with discernment and knowledge maintains order.

PROVERBS 28:1-2

SEPTEMBER 22, 2018

“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” 
― Mother Teresa

SONG OF SOLOMON 4-5

Eat, friends, and drink;

drink your fill of love. (5:1) 

2 CORINTHIANS 13

11Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

JOURNAL 

Life is hard. No matter your circumstance, everyone struggles, everyone doubts, everyone feels lonely, everyone worries, waits, cries, hurts. Every single person on the entire earth has a burden to bear...Once we really embrace that, once we really see through the haze of our own hurt, we realize we are all God's children, we are all far from home and we all ache to be back in his arms.

Yet it is only in the realization of our own ineptness that we can actually connect to our true Father and therefore connect to all his children. It is in these moments when loneliness becomes a passion to comfort. It is in these moments when hurt becomes a passion to heal, anger becomes a passion to reconcile, hatred becomes a passion to love. God can transform it all in a blink of an eye, sometimes all it takes is a smile, a word, a hug, a note. To be part of that...to be used by God in his love for each other is an amazing gift, it always catches me off guard.

It is in these moments that I am overwhelmed by joy...regardless of circumstances.

34“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

JOHN 13:34-35