The Reality

"And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you live because you have been made right with God."  Romans 8:10


As I sit with my father in the hospital I deeply feel the reality of the consequence of the fall.  The body does fail and it is not a lovely thing.  It is emotionally and physically painful.  The ray of light that filters through it all is the Spirit given life.  Yes, my dad has been made right with God through the saving power of Jesus blood.  Because of that, as I watch his body give way, I am assured that he has life.  That Spirit given life gives hope through this painful process.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving Your life so that we might live...live beyond these frail bodies.

Declaration

"I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.  No power in the sky above or in the earth below- indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8: 38-39

Who's in Charge

I use this phrase often when talking about parenting.  Romans 8:6 asks the same idea in regards to our minds.  "...letting your sinful nature control your minds leads to death.  But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace."  The end results are pretty stark opposites.  It is a choice...however, it is only made possible because "God sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have.  And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins." (v. 3)  Lord, may I live moment by moment in that freedom; my mind controlled by your Spirit, leading to life and peace.

"Until the time came to fulfill his dreams,
the Lord tested Joseph's character."  Ps. 104:19

Lord, don't let us loose sight of the dreams you've placed in our hearts amidst Your testing.  Oh that our character may conform to Your likeness.

Here or There

The tendency is to view life from where we are at.  That can be where I am at physically, emotionally or spiritually. I am challenged today by Philippians 3:19-21 that paints a stark contrast of those who think only about this life here on earth and those who think in light of their citizenship heaven, where Jesus Christ lives.  The fruits of these two different foci are polar opposites.  Galatians 5 gives the list:  impurity, lust, idolatry, hostility, selfishness, envy....VS. love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I want the "there" view.  Lord, draw me in!

At Home

We work hard to create habits, especially the good ones.  But they can also be binding.  We are conscious of keeping them and conscious of when we don't keep them.  Sometimes we become slaves of sorts to them.  Especially those of us that tend towards being perfectionists.  That's when good habits become bondage.  We may use our diligence to keep a good habit as a source of pride or we may use our failures to follow through with good habits as a platform to criticize ourselves or even others when we see them fail at good habits they had once established.
I was challenged by some thoughts about habits by Oswald Chambers this morning in My Utmost for His Highest.  "Your god may be your little Christian habit."  Has our time of prayer or Bible reading become merely a habit, or is it an extension of our very being.  If we are simply performing because we are committed to a habit then this is an opportunity for invest in the relationship so that we are living the relationship rather than just performing the relationship.
When we return home at the end of the day, is it only because it it a habit?  No. It is because that is where we live.  It is our comfort zone.  It is where we can be ourselves.  It is where we can let down.  We can express how we feel, our hopes, our disappoints, our dreams.  We can just be quiet if we want to.  We don't need to put on or perform for anyone.  Are we at home with God, our heavenly Father, or are we just going there because it is a habit?
Is there any where or any situation that we are not a  home with God?  That should be a call to our attention that it is an area that needs to be drawn into that relationship most important to us.  We must press in to Him. He will  draw all of our loose ends into Him.  "His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness... so that we might participate in His divine nature." (2 Peter 1:3,4)  The more we participate in Him, the more at home we are with Him anywhere and in anything.  Let this be our driving passion.  To know Him and the power of His resurrection (Philippians 3:10) in our lives.

Oh the Brokenness

Who will love a broken world?  If left to our own love, we can only pity the world.  Our own love can not in any way begin to go to the depth that is needed to truly love those in this broken world.  We may give the appearance of love, but it will not last.  The brokenness and pain will eventually become too much and our own love will not stand. We will need a break or we may abandon the brokenness all together.  It is only the love of God as demonstrated and offered in Christ that can love to the depth that can touch this broken world that we are a part of.  He never leave us or forsake us.  He came and gave all of Himself for our brokenness.  Only as I embrace that with total abandonment can I begin to love those broken that surround me.  "O Love that will not let me go.  I rest my weary soul in Thee."

Surrendered...

...that's a vulnerable position.  That's when I'm not in control, calling the next shot, taking responsibility, planning ahead or taking ownership.  It puts me under the control of another.  Sometimes in life that happens in an involuntary way.

Is the light light?...

Light and dark seem pretty clear cut opposites...or are they?  When does dark become light?  Or when does light become dark?

Positive and negative, when represented on a number line, are decisively divided at zero. Everything to the right is always positive all the time and everything to the left is always negative all the time.  Light and dark, however, if represented in a linear fashion have a very different representation.  The only point at which light is 100% light is at the very outer limit in one direction of that line.  Likewise, dark is 100% dark at the  outer limit of the other direction of that line.  The spectrum in between, in theory, represents degrees of light and degrees of dark.

This twilight portion of the spectrum is the place where we are easily deceived.  In Matthew 6:23, Jesus is recorded as saying, "If the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is."

Beware of the deception of the darkness that poses as light.  That is a scary and dangerous place to be.

God is light and there is no darkness at all in Him. (1 John 1:5).  That is the frequency on the spiritual light spectrum that our eyes need to be trained to.  He has made His light shine into our hearts so that we can know the glory of God. (2 Cor. 5:6)  As we know that glory, we will not be deceived by anything less.

"I Did Everything I Could..."

Slow learner...short term memory...self-absorbed...in denial...attention deficit...what is it anyway?  I just plain forget.  Yes, I forget God's faithfulness.  How could I?

He asks the same question..." Stand up and state you case against Me...What have I done to make you tired of Me?...Don't you remember?"

The next thing He says is the turn of the dagger in my heart that so desperately needs His surgery..."Remember...when I, the Lord, did everything I could to teach you about My faithfulness." (Micah 6)

Yes, He, the Lord and Savior of my heart and soul, has done and continues to do everything to teach me about His faithfulness:  the delicate blossoms of spring, the snow laden peaks of winter, the color palette of fall and the warming rays of the summer sun...the giggle of a baby, the blend of notes of perfect harmony and the trill of the bird outside my window as dawn breaks...new birth followed by new life in a soul that wandered, forgiveness from transgression yet again, the realization that "all things worked together" and the "assurance of things that are hoped for."

Lord, let me not be short sighted...don't let me fail in  my memory...keep my attention absorbed with You...may I never deny what You have done...don't let my attention wander!

Great is Your faithfulness!

Mourning Over the Consequences

God's people willingly chose to walk a path of disobedience and the just consequences fell:  destruction of their lands and slavery to their enemies.  Included in the destruction of their lands was the destruction of the Temple of the Lord in Jerusalem.  It was in these circumstances that God had met them.  During the seventy years in exile, the people mourned and fasted every summer on the anniversary of the Temple's destruction.  As Zerubbabel took on the task of rebuilding, the people asked the obvious question, "Should we continue to mourn and fast?"  How long should we mourn and fast over the sins and consequences of our past?  How long does the time of rebuilding need to be a "yes, but..." time, casting a shadow on the rebuilding that God is doing in our lives?  The record of the destruction of the temple will always remain as well as the record of why.  The reality of what has happened or we have let happen in our lives will always remain.  God, however, in His rich mercy rebuilds.  He bring wholeness and newness. He wants us, just as He instructed His people, to end those times of mourning over the past. "The times of mourning you have kept...are now ended. They will become festivals of joy and celebration for God's people. So love truth and peace."  We must do this.  We must let God's forgiveness settle into festivals of joy and celebration. (Zechariah 7 and 8)

Rejected Accusations

My journey through the minor prophets this time has been amazing.  God's unending faithfulness to a persistently unfaithful people... here's a story: A Memoir . Then in Zachariah's book he tells us about a vision he had.  The Accuser, Satan, is standing before the LORD making accusations against Jeshua the high priest.  The LORD looks straight at him and says, "I reject your accusations.  Further more, I rebuke you for these accusations.  This  man was going down but I have snatched him from the fire."  He goes on to replace the priest's filthy clothes, a picture of his sins, and gives him fine new clothes.  Yes, he is made new.  This scenario cultivates hope as we contemplate our place before our LORD.  The accusations are rejected.  We stand clothed in Jesus' righteousness alone.  Furthermore, as the LORD proclaims of this priest, we are symbols to the world of things to come.  The task is before us.  Let us be faithful as we stand acquitted.

In My Valentine Box

I found this in my valentine box this morning. The box has 962 pages of messages...messages of love, hope and encouragement. "Who is a God like you, who pardons all our guilt. You overlook the sins of your people. You will not stay angry with us forever because you delight in showing us unfailing love. Once again, you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean. You will show us your faithfulness and unfailing love as you promised those who lived before us." (Micah 7:18-20) I rest secure in my God's love.

Firm Faith

Ahaz is king of Judah and an attack from Israel and Syria is looming on the horizon. Isaiah says that the king and his people were like trees shaking in a storm. They were stricken with fear. I'm not always that afraid, but there certainly are many times that worry and fear dominate my thoughts. God tells Ahaz, through Isaiah, that the invasion will not happen and He finishes His proclamation with an interesting statement, "Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm." Is my faith firm? Is is wavering, doubting? There's no room for that. I must not look to the left or to the right. I must hold fast to my faith firmly planted in God, my Savior. It is only then that I allow Him to make me stand firm. Oh that I don't cause a hindrance.