DECEMBER 10, 2021

 Humility is the displacement of self by the enthronement of God.” 

― Andrew Murray, Humility

HOSEA 5-8

6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.(6:6) 

REVELATION 1

17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels^e of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

JOURNAL 

These later books and especially Revelations have always been a tough read for me. Often it feels as if I am reading a science fiction novel. Consequently, it is always a struggle to apply it to my own life, especially when most of the verses deal with a future that seems far beyond the here and now. 

I wonder more or less if this is not the point. The workings of God and the future are completely out of my hands. God has them...he is aware...I can do nothing but surrender to his obedience and focus on today. 

This is a humbling realization and yet also comforting. I don't have to figure it all out. I don't have to deal with the future of the world or how God is going to redeem mankind. I just have to operate myself and the best way to do that is in trusting God.

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.

1 PETER 5:7

DECEMBER 9, 2021

 “Our anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strengths.” 

― Charles Haddon Spurgeon

HOSEA 1-4

A spirit of prostitution leads them astray;

they are unfaithful to their God.(4:10) 

JUDE

17But, dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold. 18They said to you, “In the last times there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.

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.

JOURNAL 

Salvation and being a believer means the spirit of God lives within. This then becomes the anchor of the personality. Individuality flows out of this foundation. No longer is the foundation based on instinct, tradition and how a person is raised. The actions and soul of the individual are transformed in the love of God. 

It seems logical and simple but oh my...it's not! In my own life I know that the simplicity of this truth is countered by the daily and moment by moment war that goes on in my mind and heart. Habits and the force of "instict" are hard to counter. Most days I wish it was easier, I wish it was not such a struggle, yet the reality is that the struggle pushes me to God and helps me to confront my own sin. 

Thank you Father for the struggle and the reminder that all that is good is because of you. As the days wind on to Christmas, help me to remember that all of us fall into this battle, every child, man and woman, fight this battle moment by moment. We all need a savior and thankfully we have one.

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.

1 PETER 5:7

DECEMBER 8, 2021

  “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.” 

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

DANIEL 11-12

33“Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. 34When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. 35Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.(11:33-35) 

3 JOHN

9I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. 10So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.

11Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. 12Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.

JOURNAL 

Actions are the fruit of the heart. A changed heart will follow with actions that reflect that change. John says that "anyone who does what is evil has not seen God". This is a bold statement and seems to indicate that once you have seen God and have been transformed then evil no longer exists within you and therefore your actions will reflect that. 

Yet I also know from scripture that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". I also know from scripture that Paul, David, Peter...all the disciples had their moments of struggle. Yet in the end, their personal struggle in living out the Gospel was not compromised. I'm guessing then that "evil" has a far more sinister meaning.  Not struggle and missteps but a far more calculating level of action and intent. The struggle always exists but if we have surrendered to God, the struggle does not own us, and in the end love always wins!

. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

DECEMBER 7, 2021

  “The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays.” 

― C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters

DANIEL 9-10

12Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”(10:12-14) 

2 JOHN 

4It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

JOURNAL 

Driving this morning I had a thought...how often do I really just focus on the present? While driving I realized multiple thoughts were processing in my head. From the trivial to the serious, from the funny to the sad, from the complex to simple. None of which were about the moment I was in. This is how I live my life and I daresay most of humanity does the same. Remembering back to Jesus' words he knew this to be a problem. He addressed it many times. Even his model prayer was about the moment..."give us this day our daily bread".  Not a weeks worth, nor a month or a year...just today. 

I wonder how much I really miss of God around me because of all the competing thoughts. How often do I miss clues to his desire for me, opportunities to love to participate in building his kingdom. If I am to walk in obedience to God then I must meet him where he commands me to show up. Right here, right now. 

9“This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

10your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

11Give us today our daily bread.

12And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13And lead us not into temptation,^a

but deliver us from the evil one.^b ’

MATTHEW 6:9-13

DECEMBER 6, 2021

  "Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”  

― Blaise Pascal

DANIEL 7-8

1In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.(7:1) 

1 JOHN 5

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

JOURNAL 

Scott Peck wrote a book about evil called "People of the Lie". In the book he defines evil...

"Evil people hate the light because it reveals themselves to themselves. They hate goodness because it reveals their badness; they hate love because it reveals their laziness. They will destroy the light, the goodness, the love in order to avoid the pain of such self-awareness."

I confess that I don't like confronting my sin, my failures, my own potential for evil. Yet it absolutely exists and avoiding this reality is dangerous. This is why it is so critical to bind our hearts and minds to scripture. Doing so exposes our sin and humbles us to God. Without this humbling...we are in danger of avoiding the reality of our own sin. In this state it is easy to slip into a place where we avoid relationship with God. When this happens, our motives and intentions can become twisted in ways that actually use scripture and religious conviction in ways that promote fear and hate rather than love. 

The chief task in this life is to live our lives in full unabashed relationship with God.  By doing so we gain a power and an understanding of life that is beyond us. It gives us a love that is beyond the trivial love so often spoken of in our world. To give our lives in obedience to God anchors us psychologically and spiritually to the creator of truth and love.  This rock, this foundation will give stability through the wildest storms, it gives contentment and peace no matter the circumstances.

Yet to reject God and relationship with him will cut us free from the anchor of truth and love and destine us to drift and be pummeled and scattered by every storm. It is not a pretty fate, for it pits us against God himself. 

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

ROMANS 12:1-2