OCTOBER 10, 2023

  “Any person who only sticks with Christianity as long as things are going his or her way, is a stranger to the cross” 

― Timothy J. Keller

ISAIAH 43-44

I have made you, you are my servant;

Israel, I will not forget you.

22I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,

your sins like the morning mist.

Return to me,

for I have redeemed you.” (44:21-22) 

COLOSSIANS 2

9For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. 11In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh^b was put off when you were circumcised by^c Christ, 12having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead

JOURNAL 

There are times when I truly get the gospel and am overcome by God's redemption of my heart. Then there are times when I seem to forget it completely and I am swept away by the concerns of this world. I am overcome by the worries of today rather than the power and grace of God.  I guess the reality is that all men suffer from this flip-flop in thoughts and emotions. the key though is that although these thoughts come...keeping them wrested under the authority and control of God is the difference. I keep pursuing God not because it's easy but because God is God. Because he is the God of the universe, creator of all things, I obey, I trust and ultimately that obedience translates into joy. 

 Although the world often wins...we are promised that the spirit of God lives within and God's spirit ultimately conquers all sin and all evil. So regardless of the worldly outcome...seeking God and being obedient to him means I've already won. That's why Jesus' death on a cross was victory, so was Stephen's death which ultimately led to Paul's conversion. God transforms perceived earthly failures into eternal victories. 

12So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13Nothing has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted^d beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted,^e he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:12-13

OCTOBER 9, 2023

 “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

ISAIAH 41-42

 10So do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you;

I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (41:10)

COLOSSIANS 1

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.

JOURNAL 

 Paul in writing to the Colossians emphasizes that his desire is that they will receive the spirit in order to "live a life worthy of God", "pleasing him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work..." this spells out what my life is to be consumed doing...it is laboring in love and living a life that honors God in action and deed? Paul says that God has already "rescued us" and that we are now living in the "kingdom of the son".  We are forgiven and redeemed! Not in the future...now.

How then am I living this out? Is my life reflective of God's kingdom? Is my existence active and passionate? OR is my focus on what I have or what I have done?  Every day, every moment is a gift and as a believer I have been made new in a way that changes my focus and my goal. I am to share this good news in loving others and taking an active existence in living out the love of God in all I do and say.

Man this is good news but it also changes the game...its the opposite of the goals and focus of our culture. We have a culture that rewards, accumulation, greed and selfishness...however when tragedy strikes we see and know that what really matters are acts of love and sacrifice, not those of self-preservation and greed. The heroes of any great tragedy of the past history of mankind  are those that demonstrated sacrifice and love in the face of personal suffering, heartache and death. Position, title, wealth, social status...none of that mattered when tragedy struck...what mattered were acts of love, sacrifice and courage. 

The benefit of history is that we get to learn priceless lessons. We get to see what truly matters and the characteristics of true success. Each moment we get on this planet is a gift. I don't know how many I'll have. Yet I do get to choose how I live them. I have a choice...do I live it with gratitude, trusting and boldly living out God's love or do I live in regret, bitterness, fear and greed? According to scripture I have all I need to live a life that will honor God.  I have all I need to live a life that "bears fruit in every good work". I have been "strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might". There are no excuses...

11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13

OCTOBER 8, 2023

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.” 

― Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

ISAIAH 39-40

28Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint. (40:28-31)

PHILIPPIANS 4

 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

JOURNAL 

This was from a couple of years ago but it's worth reposting... past couple of weeks I have been doing a meditation that's on my phone. It is just 10 minutes and it is pretty cool in that it is just about becoming calm and clear and being in the moment. It is a program that the foundation is 30 days in blocks of 10. I am almost through the second block and it is really cool all the things it is opening my mind to. This morning I realized how amazing just the process of breathing is. There is oxygen in the air and just by taking it in my lungs convert that into my blood which travels though my entire body and allows all my organs to work perfectly. From the beating of my heart to all the synapses in my brain. It all happens without me even having to think about it.

My ability even to utilize thoughts and type them into the computer is in and of itself amazing. We are so blessed in this day and time with modern conveniences that are mind blowing but nothing is as amazing as a living breathing human. That is why we are the crown of God's creation, that is why we are so special, yet so often I don't embrace that and so often I don't think of others in those terms.  To do so would be to walk around in absolute wonder at all that God has created in every human being...because every single one is unique.

I love that these verses in Philippians are about this very thing...to think on all that is good and then the God of peace will be with us. I believe that it is in this state of mind that we can endure all things good and evil with a sense of joy and peace.

11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

PHILIPPIANS 4:11-13

OCTOBER 7, 2023

 "Success: relentless pursuit to get better in spite of the result"

ISAIAH 37-38

15What can I say? He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this. I will walk slowly all my years because of the anguish of my soul. 16O Lord, by such things men live, and in all of them my spirit finds life. You have restored me to health
and have let me live. 17Surely for my own welfare I had such great anguish;
but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back. 18For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness. 19The living, only the living, can thank You as I do today; fathers will tell their children about Your faithfulness. 20The LORD will save me; we will play songs on stringed instruments all the days of our lives in the house of the LORD. (38:20)

PHILIPPIANS 3

 7But whatever was gain to me I count as loss for the sake of Christ. 8More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ,a the righteousness from God on the basis of faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.

JOURNAL 

There are two mindsets that are in a constant tug of war in my brain. The desire and pursuit to get better vs. the desire to shrink back and rest.  Reality is that there is a place for both. However the conflict comes when my desire for rest overwhelms my desire to get better. God tells us from the beginning that he created us to work for 6 days and rest for 1. When I read these verses in both Isaiah and Philippians it is very clear that God is calling us to action in pursuit of doing good, making better and being a light in the darkness. 

Paul declares that all the things that he has lost are rubbish in comparison to the love that is found in faith in Christ. Paul is writing this from prison so when considering the loss and where he started, it's a very profound statement. To me all this is summed up in the reality that our actions done in obedience and in pursuit of God is the ultimate joy of life. It is the treasure that we long to find. Results we leave to God...but the effort to get better each day by pursuing God's heart, his love and in turn giving it away

to those that need it...this is the secret to all we deeply long to find.

1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.

1 JOHN 4:1

OCTOBER 6, 2023

    “Individual commitment to a group effort--that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” 

― Vince Lombardi

ISAIAH 34-36

8And a highway will be there;

it will be called the Way of Holiness;

it will be for those who walk on that Way.

The unclean will not journey on it;

wicked fools will not go about on it.

9No lion will be there,

nor any ravenous beast;

they will not be found there.

But only the redeemed will walk there,

10and those the Lord has rescued will return.

They will enter Zion with singing;

everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee away. (35:8-10)

PHILIPPIANS 2

1Therefore if you have any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united in spirit and purpose.

3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

JOURNAL 

I really wish I could fully capture the mindset of this verse from Paul every moment of every day. Paul's mindset is completely fused in following Christ. That mindset is one of service. This verse states that our greatest calling and greatest achievement is in service, love and sacrifice to each other. Yes it is ultimately to God, but that extends and plays out to each other.

In the grand scheme of life and the vastness of the universe, we are a minuscule speck individually. Thankfully God does not require me to stand alone, God actually requires me to engage and be part of his kingdom.That means that my greatest joy will be experienced as part of a team. My greatest accomplishment will be what I do in sacrifice and love for another. My commitment and love for others is what makes my life more than a speck, more than an insignificant vapor in time.

16Rejoice always, 17pray continually, 18give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:16-18