AUGUST 26, 2024

    “It is not enough to be industrious; so are the ants. What are you industrious about?” 

― Henry David Thoreau, Letters to Various Persons

PSALM 128-131

1My heart is not proud, Lord,

my eyes are not haughty;

I do not concern myself with great matters

or things too wonderful for me.

2But I have calmed and quieted myself,

I am like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child I am content. (131:1-2)

1 CORINTHIANS 7:25-40

 I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy. 26Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for a man to remain as he is. 27Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. 28But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

JOURNAL 

Paul is writing from a place of being completely sold out to his mission.  This is why he makes it clear that these commands are suggestions from his own perspective

Soldiers in the midst of battle have completely sold out to their mission. They have to be or else they will cower, run, freeze or act irrationally. This does not happen overnight...it is months of training and breaking and wearing down their dependence on modern life. They also have to let go of any delusions of grandeur and be committed to following orders.

Reality is that it is much the same with us and following God. However the ultimate objective is not external, but rather internal. Referring back to the Psalms of "quieting the mind" and becoming "content".  That comes from a place of internal peace, when the external anxieties have stilled and the heart has rested in one single purpose...acceptance of God's love and seeking and following him in all things.

Then he gives us a mission...a role we were designed for and one that once embraced gives us a passion and purpose. This passion and purpose is what ultimately gives us joy, hope, endurance, courage and the perseverance to walk through the fires of life in a way that honors God. But in order to get this, understand it and fully embrace it...we have to be sold out to God and his story.

28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, whoⁱ have been called according to his purpose. 

ROMANS 8:28

AUGUST 25, 2024

   “Carve your name on hearts, not tombstones.” 

― Shannon L. Alder

PSALM 124-127

1Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which cannot be shaken but endures forever.

2As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the Lord surrounds his people

both now and forevermore. (125:1-2)

1 CORINTHIANS 7:1-24

21Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so. 22For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave. 23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of human beings. 24Brothers and sisters, each person, as responsible to God, should remain in the situation they were in when God called them.

JOURNAL 

I love movies...even the bad ones. The reason is that within a 2-hour window I am able to see a story resolve itself. Most movies fall more or less into the same pattern...Things were good, then they turned bad, an unlikely hero was called and through their sacrifice, the day was saved.

The problem is that my life is not tied up in a nice neat 2-hour window. My story stretches a lifetime and beyond and therefore it is easy to become discouraged when things don't go as planned. I often wish I could have a soundtrack playing in my head all the time. Because when I am connected to a story and understand my place, I tend to have much more courage. I am more focused and am able to make better decisions. However when I lose focus and flirt with the thoughts that life is purposeless, meaningless and random then it's easy to lose heart.

I believe that is why God has woven the power of story into our hearts. Story is what connects us as humans to the past, to the Bible, and ultimately to God. Because the drama that fills movie screens is the same that plays out in the hearts and minds of every human who has ever lived. It is this connection that helps us to find our place.

So how can I know and embrace my place in the story God is telling? I think it comes in the following ways...

1. Accept that God loves me and that I am a valuable part of the story
2. Embrace the gifts and talents that I possess 
3. Live the rest of my life devoted to the story and my place in it. 

6Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

DEUTERONOMY 31:6

AUGUST 24, 2024

 "...Wait, there's no mountain too great

Hear these words and have faith

Have faith

He lives in you, he lives in me

He watches over everything we see

Into the waters, into the truth
In your reflection, he lives in you"

- THE LION KING

PSALM 120-123

1I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

2My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth. (121:1-2)

1 CORINTHIANS 6

 19Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

JOURNAL 

I absolutely love "The Lion King"...the movie, the play, the soundtrack. I connect with the story on so many levels and as a result the soundtrack has a way of undoing me emotionally...especially the tract from the Broadway play "He lives in you".  I think it's because there are many times when I have experienced and felt the safety and warmth of God's spirit in the midst of circumstances that threatened to undo me.  To feel and know that "he lives in me" has calmed some of the stormiest seas in my mind and heart.

Life is a series of stormy seas...yet these moments are precious...these moments are what makes life meaningful. It's easy to get caught up in the desire to wish these times away. But that is precisely when we experience the power and love of God the most. God is in all things, from the greatest moments of triumph to the lowest moments of heartache and despair. God exists and his power and love are always shining through. It may not be in the way we would design but he never fails to love us...no matter the day, time, hour or circumstance. That is why he commands us to not be afraid...for he lives within us.

6Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” 

DEUTERONOMY 31:6

AUGUST 23, 2024

    “I think if I've learned anything about friendship, it's to hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you. Don't walk away, don't be distracted, don't be too busy or tired, don't take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. Powerful stuff.” 

― Jon Katz

PSALM 119:105-176

145I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord,

and I will obey your decrees.

146I call out to you; save me

and I will keep your statutes.

147I rise before dawn and cry for help;

I have put my hope in your word.

148My eyes stay open through the watches of the night,

that I may meditate on your promises.

149Hear my voice in accordance with your love;

preserve my life, Lord, according to your laws.

150Those who devise wicked schemes are near,

but they are far from your law.

151Yet you are near, Lord,

and all your commands are true.

152Long ago I learned from your statutes

that you established them to last forever.

1 CORINTHIANS 5

6Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

JOURNAL 

There is something revealing about seeing arrogance or desperation in another person. I don't mean that judgmentally, because I recognize both in myself. But when I see someone desperately seeking approval, demanding recognition, manipulating circumstances or trying to convince everyone of their importance, it reminds me how exhausting and ultimately futile that pursuit really is. Arrogance and desperation can look completely different on the outside, but I wonder if they don't often come from the same place: the need to be accepted, valued and loved.

Maybe that is one of the reasons God is so insistent that I receive those things from Him first. "Yet you are near, Lord." I don't have to convince God of my value. I don't have to perform for Him, manipulate Him or somehow become impressive enough to earn His attention. Through Christ, I am already loved and accepted. The question is whether I can actually receive that and allow it to become enough.

Because when I don't, I inevitably start looking for acceptance somewhere else. I want people to notice what I do. I want appreciation. I want affirmation. And when I don't get it, frustration can turn into resentment, insecurity or even arrogance. I can begin trying to manufacture from other people something they were never capable of permanently giving me.

But if I can receive my acceptance from God, something changes. I no longer have to enter relationships asking, consciously or unconsciously, "What can you give me?" Instead, I can begin asking, "What can I give you?" I can encourage without needing encouragement returned. I can love without controlling the response. I can celebrate someone else's success without feeling diminished by it. I can tell a friend the truth without worrying that honesty will cost me their approval.

Maybe that is what makes real friendship, marriage and family so powerful and also so difficult. Jon Katz says to "hang in, stay connected, fight for them, and let them fight for you." That requires people who aren't constantly keeping score. It requires enough security to be honest, enough humility to receive correction and enough love to remain when things get messy.

Paul's warning about "a little yeast" reminds me that insecurity, pride, resentment and dishonesty don't stay contained. They work their way into everything. The answer isn't pretending they aren't there. It is returning to sincerity and truth, first about myself and then with the people I love.

Perhaps this is another part of surrender. Stop trying to extract from other people what God has already offered freely. Receive His love. Receive His acceptance. Receive the truth that I am His. Then walk into the world from fullness rather than desperation.

A friend loves at all times. Maybe I become capable of loving that way only when I finally understand that I am already loved that way. And when I don't need everyone around me to prove that I matter, I become much freer to show them how much they matter.

17A friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

- PROVERBS 17:17

AUGUST 22, 2024

   “Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.” 

― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

JEREMIAH 7-8

Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in obedience to all I command you, that it may go well with you. (7:23) 

1 TIMOTHY 2

1I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, 6who gave himself as a ransom for all people.

JOURNAL 

Today, right now, this moment. God is here with me...he is no longer in the past, he is in the present. This has been a difficult thing for me to let go of. I find that my mind often wanders to the past and thinks about how things could be different. The past is permanent, it cannot be changed, it is what it is. Yet God has given us a record of his involvement with man so that we may learn and live more fully in the present. 

To live in wisdom and obedience to God, today, this moment, will be my greatest achievement. I am creating a permanent history each moment as it passes. I want that history to be one that was lived fully, with no regrets. The only way for me to do that is to see the present moment as a gift, one that is full of possibility and with the benefit of God's spirit guiding me in all interactions. 

How amazing that scripture reinforces what is known to be psychologically healthy and good for humans. Yet it just reinforces that God is God and his truth and word are powerful. Just as my past can never be changed...but today, this moment...the possibilities are all there, God is here, he will not leave me. I have nothing to fear!

 9Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.

DEUTERONOMY 7:9