DECEMBER 22, 2019

“We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.” 
― Ernesto Che Guevara

NAHUM

7The Lord is good,

a refuge in times of trouble.

He cares for those who trust in him,

8but with an overwhelming flood

he will make an end of Nineveh;

he will pursue his foes into the realm of darkness. (1:7-8)

REVELATION 13

9Whoever has ears, let them hear.

10“If anyone is to go into captivity,

into captivity they will go.

If anyone is to be killed^c with the sword,

with the sword they will be killed.”^d

This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of God’s people.

JOURNAL 

God is either a refuge or your worst nightmare. To read Revelation along with predictive prophecy from the Old Testament is definitely enlightening. God is our refuge no matter the situation we find ourselves. Good times or bad he is our passion. 

Even if it means captivity, death, suffering etc. no matter what...we are to endure and be faithful.  What a word, what a message. So needed in this day and time of comfort, ease and the trappings of modern society. 

12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17This is my command: Love each other.

JOHN 15:12-17

DECEMBER 21, 2019

“If God were small enough to be understood, he wouldn’t be big enough to be worshipped.” —Evelyn Underhill357” 
― Timothy J. Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

MICAH 6-7

8He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly^a with your God. (6:8)

REVELATION 12

“Now have come the salvation and the power

and the kingdom of our God,

and the authority of his Messiah.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,

who accuses them before our God day and night,

has been hurled down.

11They triumphed over him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

they did not love their lives so much

as to shrink from death.

JOURNAL 

• Act Justly
• Love Mercy
• Walk Humbly with God
• Triumph through Sacrifice
• Obedience over self-indulgence

Here are  pearls of scripture, sitting right in the middle of confusing prophecy . Although every word of scripture is "God-breathed" I often wonder if part of the purpose is to have us persist in reading even when it doesn't make sense or is confusing. 

That is precisely how I have experienced God. So often life is confusing...doesn't make sense and yet we are commanded to trust and follow regardless of the circumstances. Often in private moments and some public I have questioned the process. I have wanted guarantees and logical explanations. But what I find is that guarantees and logical explanations seem to be on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to faith. 

Nothing about Jesus and his life is logical nor easy to understand. On the surface, God sacrificing his son and having him pay the penance of sin makes no sense. Then there is the manger, the running from Herod, the shepherds, pagan wise men...it's all messy and illogical and yet when it comes to the Christmas story, that's exactly what makes it beautiful. God never really seems to work in the obvious or the logical...yet too often that's what I want. 

Hmmm...maybe that's the problem, hoping and expecting God to act in sensible, human ways. Is that why we have scripture...to show us that God logic is not human logic? I think so...and even more reason to trust it and follow it. 

 9He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.

2 TIMOTHY 1:9-10

DECEMBER 20, 2019

“Yet as I read the birth stories about Jesus I cannot help but conclude that though the world may be tilted toward the rich and powerful, God is tilted toward the underdog.” 
― Philip Yancey

MICAH 4-5

He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth. And he will be their peace. (5:4-5)

REVELATION 11

7Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.

11But after the three and a half days the breath^b of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.

JOURNAL 

This scene from revelation, is much like the road to calvary.  Public opinion would say "game over", God's anointed are dead, laying in the street for over 3 days...starting to discolor and smell. Then it happens, God shows up in ways never expected. Turns the table, flips the script, changes the game.

It is hard to mesh the spiritual with the visible world.  Yet this same story plays out so often in life...the cause seems lost and then out of the blue something changes...something we never saw coming. These are the sports stories that I love to watch. The classic underdog story that warms our heart and makes for great TV. Reality is that it strikes such a chord because it is God's story.  Death on a cross or dead and rotting in the street would never have been deemed a great victory...in those moments. 

So often in life I think too much is made of first impressions. It's easy to form an opinion and become fixated on how things "should" turn out.  I think it's our desire for control and to be able to predict an outcome. So often though the end result is something we never saw coming. That's why it is so important to always keep an open mind...to realize that just when things seem worst and lost...God may be about to flip a switch. 

I love this about life and God. Most of the stories from the Bible are unpredictable, Adam and Eve, Noah, Job,  Abraham, Lot, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, Daniel, Peter, Jesus, Paul...God defies convention and when he flips a switch it's usually pretty dramatic. 

This time of year that same story is what we celebrate...who could ever have predicted that the Messiah...would be born into a smelly dirty barn. Who would have predicted that this boy born into meager conditions would become the savior of us all. These stories give us hope but more importantly they give us a clue as to how God works and his love for defying our predictions, opinions and judgements.  

 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.

COLOSSIANS 1:9-14

DECEMBER 19, 2019

“Be true to yourself.
Make each day your masterpiece.
Help others.
Drink deeply from good books.
Make friendship a fine art.
Build a shelter against a rainy day.
Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.” 
― John Wooden

MICAH 1-3

11Her leaders judge for a bribe,

her priests teach for a price,

and her prophets tell fortunes for money.

Yet they look for the Lord’s support and say,

“Is not the Lord among us?

No disaster will come upon us.”

12Therefore because of you,

Zion will be plowed like a field,

Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble,

the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets. (3:11-12)

REVELATION 10

5Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! 7But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”

JOURNAL 

Here from Micah is a warning that to me, seems against those that have found profit and comfort in their current position.  Of course since he is from a rural area he is a bit of an outsider and would naturally rebuke those in the city.  It also is a reminder of the dangers and the subtlety of comfort. Yet many times I find that my heart longs for comfort and ease...is that not the lure of retirement and vacation.  I can't help but wonder if that is not a well played lie to keep us out of the battle.  The more I can be compromised, the more comfortable I am, the harder it will be to break out of that into whatever God calls me to do. 

What is tough about this is...vacation, retirement are all wonderful things.  They are definitely gifts that are good.  Just as the Kingdom of Israel, Solomon's wealth were all blessings. But I think the danger is when they become the end and goal rather than a blessing from God.  One of the things that used to bother me as a financial advisor was always focusing on planning for the day that people will do nothing.  The more I think about it...it almost feels like a way to take people out of the game and render them ineffective. 

It also is a reminder for the need to get out of our comfort zone, slow down and hear from God.  The quote from Wooden really puts things into perspective.

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

1THESSALONIANS 5:16-18

DECEMBER 18, 2019

“One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.” 
― Sigmund Freud

JONAH

5Jonah had gone out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6Then the Lord God provided a leafy plant^a and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the plant. 7But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the plant so that it withered. 8When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

9But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

“It is,” he said. “And I’m so angry I wish I were dead.”

10But the Lord said, “You have been concerned about this plant, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11And should I not have concern for the great city of Nineveh, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left—and also many animals?”

REVELATION 9

20The rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood—idols that cannot see or hear or walk. 21Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts.

JOURNAL 

Reading through Jonah it is easy to see how I many times have acted like Jonah. When things don't work out like I want them. When heartache strikes and I don't get my way, there is an anger and bitterness that can begin to surface.

Jonah moping over the plant is really kind of funny but it's also the state of his heart. He has such hatred for Ninevah that he cannot see beyond it. The hatred turns everything bad in his mind. Everything is exacerbated to a level where he is content to die because of a plant. Obviously it is not the plant but just where his heart has gone as a result of his bitterness and disappointment. This is a lesson that any time we let our own plans and our own judgement crowd out God's we are in danger of becoming disillusioned and bitter. 

Today I celebrate 26 years of marriage. You don't go through 26 years without struggle, and difficulty and we have definitely had our share, yet I can say without question that the blessings of my life with Marcella have helped to ease the bitterness and anger that could have easily darkened my heart. I see without a doubt how God blessed me with her strength and love in times when most would have blamed and become bitter. There is no better example of God's spirit than when it exists in the heart of forgiveness and love and I have been blessed in abundance. 

31Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

EPHESIANS 4:31-32