DECEMBER 13, 2021

  “Submission is not about authority and it is not obedience; it is all about relationships of love and respect.” 

― William Paul Young, The Shack

JOEL 1-3

28“And afterward,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

your old men will dream dreams,

your young men will see visions.

29Even on my servants, both men and women,

I will pour out my Spirit in those days.(2:28-29) 

REVELATION 4

9Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

11“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”

JOURNAL 

Years ago I read "The Shack". It was an experience that played a role in healing my heart. Of course not the book itself...but it helped me confront some of my own bitterness and anger. It helped me to see all the ways I allowed my hurts to block me from opening up to God and therefore laying down my pent up hurt. I was a mess...still am in alot of ways, but I was in a place where I was using hurt and anger as a way of excusing my own sin. I was quietly blaming all kinds of people and circumstances for why I was experiencing failure and justifying my own compromises. 

The problem was never really the ways I experienced hurt and betrayal, but rather how I processed it and held onto it. I was angry and secretly wanted certain people to pay and experience pain. I in turn wanted to be vindicated, comforted, celebrated and loved. What I ultimately realized is that I had to acknowledge the pain from the past but also let it go and lay it before the throne of God. I then had to realize that everything I ever wanted I had already been given in the love and grace of God. That was tough to accept and embrace...still is.

There are days when those old hurts resurface...there are days when I feel desperate for love and acceptance. The reality though is that humans are flawed and humans are incapable of loving perfectly. 

To expect or hope that somehow my experience will be different is to live in a delusional, hopeless fairy tale. Yet we are not without hope, Jesus came and died and promises that if we will trust him, surrender to him...we will experience indescribable joy that will mend the hurts of living in this world. Unfortunately this won't inoculate us from heartache...in fact we may experience it in an even greater capacity, but we are promised to have the strength to endure, the love to overcome and the grace when we blow it. What more could we ever want??

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 5:6-7

DECEMBER 12, 2021

 “Declare your jihad on thirteen enemies you cannot see -egoism, arrogance, conceit, selfishness, greed, lust, intolerance, anger, lying, cheating, gossiping and slandering. If you can master and destroy them, then you will be ready to fight the enemy you can see.” 

― أبو حامد الغزالي

HOSEA 12-14

9Who is wise? Let them realize these things.

Who is discerning? Let them understand.

The ways of the Lord are right;

the righteous walk in them,

but the rebellious stumble in them.(14:9) 

REVELATION 3

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

21To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

JOURNAL 

The mind is a tricky thing. The fact that we have the ability to stand apart from ourselves and view our actions and thoughts is truly a divine gift. It also though is why we ultimately have no excuse for behavior that does not glorify God. We have a choice. Even though there are competing emotions and habits that many times will lead me away from godly choices, I still have the ability to choose whether or not to follow those emotions and habits. 

To truly follow God I must acknowledge and accept that many of my emotions and habits are contrary to God. The effect of this acceptance is what is really tough. It means that I am able to see my sin and my dance with darkness. That's not a pretty picture and it's one that I typically want to avoid. This is why reading and studying the Bible is so important  It constantly forces me to see my own thoughts and actions juxtaposed to scripture and the words of God, and ultimately see myself through God's eyes. 

This is the daily challenge of my walk with God. To not be wary of this struggle is the path of arrogance. To become fully aware is to embrace the humility that drives me to the feet of God. It also serves as a reminder that I am no different than those I tend to vilify. Father what a mess we humans are! Thank you for loving and saving us in spite of our mess, our evil, our flirtations and fascination with darkness.

1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:1-6

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.