Our stuff

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Luke 12-13; Psalm 118


TO CHEW ON: "And He said to them, 'Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses.'" Luke 12:15


Jesus, the ultimate teacher, sure knew how to grab those teaching moments. Here the request of someone in the crowd for Him to intervene in an estate division problem gave rise to a proverb and a parable about the stuff people own.

The man who called out, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me," was probably surprised when Jesus took him back to considering the basics of possessions. One of the ideas that He alluded to in His answer: "...one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses," is the fact that people very easily let their possessions define them.

We still do that. Notice, for example, how TV commercials tap into our desire to project a good image. One way, according to the ads, is by being the owner of that new car, living in that home on the golf course development with all its amenities, surrounded by brand-name fixtures and furniture.

Jesus' parable draws our attention away from the glittery stuff we love to posses to our impending separation from those things by death. It's inevitable. It may be much nearer than we think. We can't predict when it will arrive in any case. When it does come, "this night" or that, and our souls are required of us, "whose will those things be which you have provided?"

The implied answer is, "They won't be ours." We'll leave them all behind.

A footnote in my Bible says it concisely:

"Possessions neither give life nor provide security; because death separates from things. The fool in the parable mistakenly looked upon his possessions as his own, not gifts dependent upon the will of God and to be used unselfishly." - New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 1413.

We can't get through life without possessions. But we can hang onto them loosely, knowing they are lent for a little while. The challenge is to steward them wisely and in a way that will show us "rich toward God." 

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to have Your perspective on possessions. She me how to use them in a way that pleases You. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 118

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Limited days

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Job 16-19; Psalm 139

TO CHEW ON: "Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

And in Your book they all were written,

The days fashioned for me,

When as yet there were none of them." Psalm 139:16

There is nothing like being in the presence of impending death to give one a sense of how much of life is out of one's control. About two years before he died, my brother's diagnosis of untreatable cancer had us all wondering how his life would play out. Would the doctor's diagnosis prove as fatal as it sounded, or would God give a miracle of healing? When, in July of 2010 he took a turn for the worse, we hurried to be by his side. Would this be the end? He soldiered on for six more months after that. None of us, not even his wife and children who were with him every day, could predict exactly when or how he would die.

Though such a limitation may make us feel frustrated, it is also a source of comfort when viewed within the context of God's knowledge and power. David refers to God's knowledge of our lifespan several times in this psalm:

"You know my sitting down and my rising up" (vs. 2).
"You... are acquainted with all my ways" (vs. 3).
"...in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them" (vs. 16).

But God doesn't only know the number of our days — He has determined it:

"You have hedged me behind and before
And laid Your hand in me" (vs. 16).

And so we know that every day of our lives is meant to be. If we are still here, God is allowing it, indeed ordaining it, to accomplish our part in His plan on earth.

The challenge for me, and you, is to use up these years, days, hours, and minutes wisely and well. To find the "way everlasting" and walk in it.

PRAYER: "Search me O God and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxieties;
And see if there is any wicked way in me
And lead me in the way everlasting" (vs. 23-24).

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 139

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 

This life--not the end of the story

Image: Pixabay

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Kings 8-11; Psalm 103

TO CHEW ON: "Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities
Who heals all your diseases." Psalm 103:2,3

I recall the funeral of the daughter of dear friends a few years ago. She was first diagnosed with cancer in 2003. Thirteen years later, it killed her. As I read this passage, the words "who heals all your diseases" jump out at me and a voice in my mind says, "That's not true. God doesn't heal our all diseases. Despite our prayers, God didn't heal Kathy."

Have you ever found yourself weary of trying to understand God and defend Him in the face of such apparent contradiction? That was my first impulse on reading this. And yet…

I believe in the end, it all comes down to timing. We prayed for God to heal our friend in this life. That didn't happen. But is she healed now? Yes undoubtedly.

All the other promises in this passage will also come true, be experienced, and understood more fully in the real time of that future time beyond earth time:
- the promise of redemption from destruction - Psalm 103:4.
- seeing perfect righteous justice for the oppressed - Psalm 103:6.
- the removal (forgiveness) of our transgressions - Psalm 103:12.

I do believe that God can and does heal in this life, and often does. But not always. I can and do accept this, without an erosion of my trust in His integrity, especially as I view the whole panorama of God's promises in the light of the words:

"But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting" - Psalm 103:17. 

In other words, it transcends time. And this life is not the end of the story! It is only the briefest part, as David reminds us so poignantly:

"For He remembers our frame; 
He remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
As a flower of the field, so he fourishes.
For the wind passes over it, and it is gone..." Psalm 103:14-16.

PRAYER: Dear Father, I need Your mercy throughout my life and beyond. Help me to trust Your wisdom, goodness, and love in this life and to eternity. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 103

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Orient your fragile life by the North Star of eternity

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Leviticus 24,25; Psalm 38

TO CHEW ON: “My heart pants, my strength fails me;
As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.” Psalm 38:10

It doesn’t take much to knock the breath out of us. An accident, a natural disaster, or a bout of sickness (as David seems to be suffering in this psalm) and we are flat on our backs and wondering if we’ll see next month, let alone next year.

Bible imagery of the brevity and fragility of life brings home the sobering facts. A lifespan is referred to as a shepherd’s tent and a weaver’s loom (Isaiah 38:12), grass and field flower (Isaiah 40:6), and a faded leaf carried away by the wind (Isaiah 64:6).

God is aware of our slightness: “He remembered that they were but flesh, / A breath that passes away and does not come again” (Psalm 78:39); “He knows our frame;/ He remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).

But are we as aware? Most of the time, probably not. But when our lives are threatened (as David’s was by Saul - 1 Samuel 20:3), or we get sick (Psalm 38:10-12), suddenly we’re face to face with our mortality.

These can be depressing thoughts. However,  the facts of our fragility, brevity and apparent futility lose their power to get us down when we shine on them our hope of spending eternity with God. I love how Paul expresses this hope in 2 Corinthians 5:

“For while we are still in this tent, we groan under the burden and sigh deeply—weighed down, depressed, oppressed; not that we want to put off the body (the clothing of the spirit), but rather that we would be further clothed so that what is mortal (our dying body) may be swallowed up by life [after the resurrection]” - 2 Corinthians 5:4 AMP.

Whether life is good for us now and we would love for it to go on like this indefinitely or we’re down and seemingly at death’s door, let’s hang onto the fact that when life here ends (which it will for all of us sooner or later) it’s not all over for us. And let’s orient our lives by the North Star of life in eternity with God:

“Therefore, whether we are at home [on earth away from Him] or away from home [and with Him] we are constantly ambitious and strive earnestly to be well pleasing to Him” - 2 Corinthians 5:9 AMP (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to orient my life here and now by the coordinates of eternity with You in heaven. Amen.
 
PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 38


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Thanks for reading! This year we are using The Bible Project "Timeless Reading Plan" to read through the Bible in 2018. If you'd like to read along in your own Bible, you can download a pdf of the reading plan HERE.

God's view of TIME

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Peter 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." 2 Peter 3:8

The Advent season is one in which we are exquisitely aware of time. Our seasonal customs of gift-giving and celebrating with food and drink have us counting shopping days till Christmas. Advent calendars deliver anticipated treats to children every morning. Our agenda books are full of commitments to attend banquets, concerts, and gatherings.

Even when we slow down to ponder the meaning of the season, the issue of time is still there in the yearning voices of the prophets. They saw the coming of Messiah and salvation but from a distance. They didn't know when it would happen.

Our reading today reminds us about how our concept of time differs from God's. A thousand years is one day? One day is a thousand years? But it makes sense when you're the God of forever past and present, to express one day in such incomprehensible-to-us units. It brings to mind other mentions of time in the Bible and we ask, what aspects of time matter enough to God to include in His Word? Here are some:

Our time on earth is brief:

"Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths. And my age is as nothing before You. Certainly every man at his best state is but a vapour. Selah" - Psalm 39:5.

There is a fullness of time—God's appointed time when everything is ready. This was true about the coming of Messiah—Jesus:

"But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law" - Ephesians 1:10.

This is also true of the end-of-earth aspect of filled-up time that Peter talks about in our reading:

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise etc.…" 2 Peter 3:10.

There is a right use of time.

"See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time…" - Ephesians 5:15,16 (emphasis added).

There is an acceptable time, favourable for seeking God.

"For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation" - 2 Corinthians 6:2 (emphasis added).

However, we readily presume that time and opportunity will continue.

" 'Come,' one says, 'I will bring wine, and we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink. Tomorrow will be as today and much more abundant' " - Isaiah 56:12.

Procrastination is our temptation.

"Now as he (Paul) reasoned about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, 'Go away for now; when I have a convenient time, I will call for you.' " Acts 24:25.

But James warns us about how little time we have:

"…whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." - James 4:14 (emphasis added).

What about us? Are we living on God's time wavelength? Are we conscious of life's brevity? Are we watching for signs of the fullness of time? Are we taking advantage of the acceptable time we're living in? Or do we put off for tomorrow those decisions and actions we know we should attend to today? Let's put ourselves into God's time-frame, adjusting our lives to His thoughts about time in whatever way they apply to us.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to view my time on earth realistically. Give me wisdom for how to use well the time I have today. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Depend on what lasts

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Isaiah 40:1-17

TO CHEW ON: “All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field,
The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.” - Isaiah 40:6-8

I mark the seasons with photographs. If you took a tour of my photo albums you would see burgeoning life creep into them perhaps as early as February with the first snowdrops and the thickening magnolia buds. By April I can hardly keep up with all the “flowers of the field” popping out in beauty around me. Then in September that record of flower life tapers off. The cold winds of December to January shut it down completely.

Wind testing life’s vigor is what Isaiah pictures in today’s reading. This wind is no weather gale, though, but the breath of God.

I usually think of the breath of God as life-giving (e.g. the creation of Adam:

“And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” - Genesis 2:7 (emphasis added).

Here God’s breath is a test, providing proof of man’s frailty:

“The grass withers, the flower fades
Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it" (emphasis added).

That breath proves the worthiness of another entity through—“the word of our God.” It stands forever. I take that “word” as the things God has decreed will happen, both the things He has revealed in His written word—the Bible—and the secret things known only to Him.

As withering, fading humans, we can lean our weakening selves on that certainty. I like how the writer of my Bible’s study notes o Isaiah expresses it:

“The Spirit-breath of the LORD blows in the life of man, amplifying the frailty of his humanity by picturing man as a fading flower and withering grass. This fading, withering man is both comforted and given strength by the Word of God and the Spirit-breath of God. Failing man must focus his faith on the unfailing Word of God and the unfaltering resources of the Spirit of God” - Nathaneal Van Cleave, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 918 (my emphasis).

PRAYER: Dear Father, help me to be realistic about my fragility and limited lifespan. Help me to shift my confidence away from the false security of people and all mankind has accomplished, to the lasting rock of Your Word. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Enduring legacy

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 90:1-17


TO CHEW ON: "And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,

And establish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands." Psalm 90:17

Does it seem to you that the seasons are changing faster than they ever did? That Christmas, another birthday, your  anniversary is always just around the corner and that they keep coming at you faster than they ever did when you were a child?I don't know what it is about getting older that makes time seem to fly. Perhaps it's the realization that it's running out. The top of the timer is only half full, one third full, one quarter full...

The theme of Psalm 90 is the brevity of life and the stewardship of time. What vivid pictures the writer, Moses, paints to show how short life is:

To God a thousand years are like yesterday (before you realize it, only a memory), and a watch in the night (a few hours on duty) - Psalm 90:4.

To us life is like a flash flood, a sleep when time passes without our awareness, grass that grows in the morning but by evening is cut down, as slight as a sigh - Psalm 90:5-6,9.

Other Bible passages add paintings to the "Life is Brief" gallery:

• "Our days on earth as as a shadow" - 1 Chronicles 29:15.
• "My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle" - Job 7:6.
• "My life span is gone, taken from me like a shepherd's tent; I have cut off my life like a weaver. He cuts me off from the loom" - Isaiah 38:12.
• "You have made my days as handbreadths" - Psalm 39:5.
• "He comes forth like a flower and fades away" - Job 14:2.
• "For what is your life? It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" - James 4:14.

In the setting of such fragility and brevity, Moses' request seems almost brash: "...establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands."

[Establish = kun means to be firmly established, stable, secure, enduring, directed aright, fixed aright, steadfast.]

Isn't this what we all want—to do something significant, to leave something that endures past the span of our short lives?

Just over a month ago we celebrated the sixteenth anniversary of 9-11. I would suppose that the men who designed those twin towers thought they had left a multi-generational legacy in the massive structures. Yet they came down in mere hours. What everyone celebrated on the anniversary was not the memory of those buildings but the acts of heroism, self-sacrifice, and love performed by many who died that day and how they made a lasting difference to lives.

Our love for people, as it works itself out in a hundred different ways, is also the best legacy we can leave. It is an investment in never-dying souls. Let's concern ourselves with leaving such a legacy especially as it involves introducing those souls to Jesus, the giver of eternal life.


PRAYER: Dear God, Moses' prayer is my prayer today: 'Let the beauty of the Lord my God be upon me. And establish the work of my hands for me. Yes, establish the work of my hands. Amen.


MORE: a poem...

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Crossroad event

Image: Pixabay

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Matthew 4:12-26

TO CHEW ON: “Now when Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, He departed to Galilee.” Matthew 4:12

The news of John’s death seems to have been a turning point, a watershed, a crossroad moment for Jesus. Look at how many changes He made following that incident:

1. He moved residences, left Nazareth to live in Capernaum - Matthew 4:13.

2. He focused His message to “'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'” - Matthew 4:17.

3. He began choosing disciples - Matthew 4:18-22.

4. His presence, with its powerful message accompanied by healing virtue, attracted crowds and He began regularly to minister to the multitudes - Matthew 4:23-25.

It’s almost as if the death of John woke Him up to the life-and-death nature of His own mission. That incident seemed have been a catalyst, launching Him into living out His own destiny.

I ask myself, have I been similarly awakened—have you:
- to the fragility, unpredictability, and brevity of life?
- to the seriousness of living as a child and heir of the kingdom Jesus preached?
- to the possibility that such an awakening might mean changes in day-to-day living, in how we spend our time, where, and with whom?

What might it take to wake us up to these things? A serious illness? A brush with death? The death of friends and family members? Or…?

If and when that moment comes, am I, are we prepared to make the changes God might show us need to be made?


PRAYER: Dear Jesus, help me to face the realities of life, death, and what really matters, as it seems You did when You were on earth. May I be courageous to make any changes You reveal to me. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Pilgrims

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 35:1-10

TO CHEW ON: "A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness
The unclean shall not pass over it,
but it shall be for others
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray…
But the redeemed shall walk there
And the ransomed of the Lord shall return
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads
They shall obtain joy and gladness
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Isaiah 35:8-10

Eugene Peterson says in the first chapter of A Long Obedience in the Same Direction:

"For recognizing and resisting the stream of the world's ways, there are two biblical designations for people of faith that are extremely useful: disciple and pilgrim...Pilgrim (parepidemos) tells us we are people who spend our lives going someplace for God and whose path for getting there is the way, Jesus Christ. We realize that 'this world is not my home' and set out for 'the Father's house.' Abraham, who 'went out' is our archetype. Jesus, answering Thomas's question 'Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?' gives us directions: 'I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me' (John 14:5-6)" (p. 17-18).

Our focus verse today talks about part of that pilgrimage path. It appears to be the part near the end of the journey. Don't you just love the way Isaiah describes this part of the road — it's bigness (it's a "Highway"), its purity (it's a "Highway of Holiness" with nothing unclean on it), its safety (no one goes astray on it), its music, and its joy!

Isaiah's description here got me thinking about ways and roads and paths and how this metaphor for our life as people of faith is used again and again in the Bible. Here are some examples:

1. We choose the way we want to go (Psalm 119:30).

2. It's important to choose well, for our choice has implications for eternity (Matthew 7:13-14; Proverbs 15:24).

3. God and our leaders teach us the right way (Jeremiah 42:3; 1 Samuel 12:23).

4. Staying on the right path involves continuing choices for us (Proverbs 9:6; Proverbs 10:17; 2 Peter 2:2).

5. The way we choose impacts private actions as well as public life (Psalm 101:2).

6. When we get confused about the path, God promises to give us direction (Isaiah 30:21; Psalm 139:23-24).

7. The right path — the path of wisdom — is righteous, level, straight, and smooth (Isaiah 26:7), also described as pleasant and peaceful (Proverbs 3:17).

8. Staying on the right path brings with it the promise of a prolonged life (Deuteronomy 5:33).

9. It leads, finally, to a wonderful destination (Psalm 107:7, as well as today's focus verse).

A while ago we attended the funeral service of a friend who was part of the church we were members of years ago. Though it was a sad time, the afternoon had a glad side to it too, as we again met people we had worked with in the nursery, in Sunday School, and on the church board, people we knew well because we had, for years, journeyed side by side.

It was also an afternoon of reflecting on where our friend, was now. The hours I spent musing and mingling was to me a brief glimpse of what it means to be on that "Highway of Holiness" — traveling, singing, joyful, and ever hopeful as I make my way, in the company of many others, to a wonderful destination.


PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for this picture of life as a journey and Your way as the road. Please guide my steps on it today. Amen.

MORE: "I'll Lead You Home" by Michael W. Smith



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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A perfect ending

Image: Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 138:1-8

TO CHEW ON: "The Lord will perfect that which concerns me." Psalm 138:8


If you thought of your life as a story, does it sometimes seem to you that the plotter could use some help giving it a better arc? In other words, do you feel disappointed with your progress and growth, as if you're encountering the same issues and problems over and over and not getting any better at dealing with them? You ask, haven't I learned anything? Why does it seem I'm not getting any better in the things that count—the Kingdom of God matters, the becoming-more-like-Jesus goal?

Our chosen verse today answers that. The word "perfect" (the verb) is key.

["Perfect (gamar) means to end, accomplish, perfect, come to an end, cease, perform fulfill… Twice (in the OT) it refers to completing, finishing, and perfecting of God's work in one's life - Psalm 57:2 and here. These two references are the OT parallels to Philippians 1:6" - Dick Mills, Word Wealth, New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 792.]

I like how Psalm 57:2 puts the focus on what we do along the way:

"I will cry to God Most High, Who performs on my behalf and rewards me—Who brings to pass [His purposes] for me and surely completes them!" - AMP (emphasis added).

Philippians 1:6 is Paul's confident belief in God's ability to accomplish this:

"And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ—right up to the time of His return—developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you" - AMP (emphasis added).

Whether we appear to be making progress or not, whether the story arc of our lives looks to be going somewhere or not, we can be sure that God knows what He is doing and is working even in our detours and double-backs. Whenever and however we can, let's cooperate with Him.

PRAYER: Dear Father thank You for this promise of a completed life work for me. Help me to daily live in sync with You. Amen.
 
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

A time for down-sizing

Photo from RGBStock.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ecclesiastes 3:1-15

TO CHEW ON: "To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven: …
A time to keep,
And a time to throw away." Ecclesiastes 3:1-6

I love the catalogue of times in Ecclesiastes 3:1-9. It helps us view the ebb and flow of life's activities philosophically. However, that perspective can be negative or positive.

Negative:
It's easy to view this list fatalistically, coming as it does, after the Preacher's depressing observations that he will have to leave his hard work to the man who comes after him (Ecclesiastes 2:18); that the person who doesn't work gets the benefit of it (Ecclesiastes 2:21); and his sum-up complaint "This (all the above-mentioned and more) also is vanity and grasping for the wind" (Ecclesiastes 2:26). We're simply going through the motions of a life whose end is already fixed.

Positive:
Or we can read these verses as the Preacher's answer to the question about life that he's already raised. As the Asbury Bible Commentary puts it:

"Since all has been determined by God, life has purpose and meaning. Since God has set a time for everything, a sense of security results. The continual movements of life do not need to be viewed as meaningless.

'Instead of changelessness, there is something better: a dynamic, divine purpose, with its beginning and end. Instead of frozen perfection, there is the kaleidoscopic movements of innumerable processes, each with its own character and its period of blossoming and ripening; beautiful in its time and contributing to the over-all masterpiece which is the work of our Creator' (Kidner, 39).

From this perspective, then, God's actions are not simply arbitrary, but appropriate, and not simply confining, but releasing." - Asbury Bible Commentary, accessed through Biblegateway.com  "Study This."

I like this perspective, especially the quote within the quote which I've bolded.

The reason I chose to focus on the last part of Ecclesiastes 3:6 today is because I'm currently (and perpetually, it seems) downsizing—thinking about what to keep and what to throw away. Hard decisions must be made in this season of life. It helps to know that what I'm doing is biblical. It even becomes poetic.

The saving of all my stuff was the blossoming. The keeping and storing of it for years and years was the ripening. Now it's time to harvest—to decide what gets to stay, what is chaff, and what others will have a chance to own.

PRAYER: Dear God, I'm so glad that You're in charge—not only of my life but the world. Help me to trust You with my times. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Four Elijah lessons

Elijan hears God's still small voice - Artist unknown

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Kings 19:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Then a voice said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?' He replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty...' " 1 Kings 19:13,14.

I can understand Elijah's total exhaustion and discouragement. Even three years of famine and defeating the prophets of Baal hadn't won the people over to God. Now he was on the run from Jezebel again. Despite his 100% commitment to God the results were zero and he felt like a total failure.

Elijah's story and the way God dealt with him have lessons for us to learn when:

- We've completed a project.
I'm sure Elijah was glad the three-years of no rain was over and had ended in the grand climax that it did. He'd finished his assignment and finished well. But, as often happens when a project is finished, he experienced a big let-down—especially when the results were not what he'd hoped for.

Lesson: We need to anticipate the let-down that's typical after a project is done.

- We're physically exhausted.
Elijah's run from Jezebel sapped any remaining energy he had. Utterly depleted, his attitude was affected by his physical state of hunger, thirst, and fatigue. Sleep and the bread and water the angel served perked him up considerably.

Lesson: We need to take care of our bodies, eating, drinking, sleeping, and taking work breaks to stay physically and emotionally healthy. Knowing the body's vulnerability in this area also helps us be empathetic with others when they're feeling ill or just tired and hungry.

- We need to hear from God.
Elijah most likely expected to hear from God in the fire, wind, and earthquake. He didn't Instead God spoke in a "still small voice."

Lesson: We can have our ears tuned for that "still small voice" too. Perhaps we'll hear it in the lyrics of a children's song, the kind gestures of a friend or insights from a book we're reading—especially if that book is the Bible.

- We feel our lives have been a failure.
Twice when Elijah talked to God he expressed disappointment in the results of his life (1 Kings 19:4,14) God didn't contradict him or list his successes. Instead, He gave Elijah new assignments, assignments that told him the story wasn't finished and wouldn't be finished with him.

Lesson: We need to remember that we too are only a short chapter in God's story. It didn't start with us and won't end with us. We need to be okay with writing our chapter and leaving the continuation and ending to Him.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to use common sense to care for myself physically, and to judge my life's success by my obedience to You, rather than outward successes. Amen.
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Unless noted otherwise, all Scriptures quoted in this meditation are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Our Father's pity

Image: geoffjhyland/Pixabay.com

TODAY'S SPECIAL: PSALM 103:1-22

TO CHEW ON: "As a father pities his children,

So the Lord pities those who fear Him." Psalm 103:13

Watch parents with their newborn infant. See the gentle touch and the adoring gaze, hear the soft, soothing tone. That's "pities" - "racham" — the way God the Father regards us ("those who fear Him"), His children.

[Pities - racham means to feel or show compassion, to love deeply, to show pity or mercy, to tenderly regard someone; to tenderly love (especially as parents love their infant child). Racham is the origin of the Hebrew word for womb - rechem. In Isaiah 49:15 God asks, "Can a woman forget her nursing child and not have compassion on (racham) the son of her womb (rechem)?"- Dick Mills, "Word Wealth," New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1146.]

One reason human parents treat their infant with such tenderness is because they know the helplessness and vulnerability of this tiny creature for whom they are responsible. God's impulse of tenderness toward us comes from similar feelings (if we can call them that). "He knows our frame," assures the psalm-writer, David. "He remembers that we are dust" - Psalm 103:14.

David goes on to remind us about life's brevity—grass, flowers—and insignificance: "For the wind passes over it, and it is gone,/ And its place remembers it no more" - Psalm 103:16

In contrast, God's mercy "is from everlasting to everlasting ... His righteousness to children's children" - Psalm 103:17. God's attention elevates those who fear Him from disposable grass to something worth loving and preserving.

As I grow older, I am more keenly aware than ever of my own grass-like lifespan, my flower-like vulnerability. Soon I'll too be gone and the meadow will forget me. But God won't. As we saw when we focused our attention on the ascension yesterday, there is another chapter. In it:

• we will see God - Job 19:26; Psalm 49:15.

• we will be beyond the grasp of death and decay - John 8:51; 11:26.

• we will live with Jesus - John 14:3; 2 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:17.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that because of Jesus my life can have significance beyond its mortal span. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unfading Word

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Isaiah 40:1-17


TO CHEW ON: "The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever." Isaiah 40:7,8

Who can read Isaiah 40:1-17 and not hear the strains of Handel's Messiah echo in the belfry of imagination? "Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye My People," "Every Valley Shall Be Exalted," "And the Glory of the Lord Shall Be Revealed," "He Shall Feed His Flock." It's a reminder, Advent is all but upon us. Again! So soon!

This Christmas we will all be one year older than last year, and one year closer to our own grass-withering, flower-fading end. In fact, some of the loved ones who were with us last Christmas are already gone.

But there is something that lasts. "The word of our God stands forever." The longevity of Isaiah's words, which Handel helped immortalize for us, is an object lesson of this. Isaiah has been dead for over two and a half millennia. Handel died two and a half centuries ago (in 1759). Yet God's word lives on in Scripture, in song, and in the hearts of each generation that encounters it.

My own fragile mortality in contrast to God's invincible, indestructible Word reminds me to place my hope and spend the short time I have on things that God's Word recommends and approves.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to make Your word my standard, my light, my food, my song, my guide, my meditation, my hiding place. May my short life have significance as I anchor it on Your indestructible word. Amen.

MORE: God's word is:

Our Standard - Psalm 119:5-6, 11
Light - Psalm 119:105, 130
Food - Psalm 119:103, Jeremiah 15:16
Song - Psalm 119:54
Meditation material - Psalm 119:97
Fire - Jeremiah 23:29
Hiding place - Psalm 119:114
Guide - Psalm 119:133
Hammer - Jeremiah 23:29
Sword - Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12
Seed - 1 Peter 1:23
Mirror - James 1:22-25
Effective - Isaiah 55:11


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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Authentic living

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Psalm 100:1 - 101:6

TO CHEW ON: "I will behave wisely in a perfect (blameless) way …
I will walk within my house with a perfect heart." - Psalm 101:2

The word that comes to mind when I read David's resolve to live well in private ("within my house") as well as in public is authentic.

[Authentic: 1. Entitled to belief, trustworthy, reliable. 2. Of undisputed origin, genuine -  Funk and Wagnall's Dictionary.]

It 's all too easy and common for us, however, to live one way outwardly, doing things that will impress or not offend onlookers. But when we get home and kick off our shoes, how readily those niceties come off with them and we're unkind, rude, ornery, critical, careless about what we say and how we say it.

My Thompson Chain Bible lists the characteristics of the Christian's walk:

• It is a new life, a spiritual walk that is not "according to the flesh but according to the Spirit" - Romans 8:1,4; Galatians 5:16.

• It is a faith walk - 2 Corinthians 5:7.

• It is a walk of love - Ephesians 5:2.

• It is a circumspect walk - Ephesians 5:15. The Amplified Bible enlarges on circumspect: "Live purposefully and worthily and accurately…"

• It is a walk that is lived with an awareness of life's brevity - Ephesians 5:16.

• It is a joyful, thankful, singing walk expressed in songs, hymns and spiritual songs - Ephesians 5:19.

• It is a walk in the light, as opposed to being sneaky and underhanded- Ephesians 5:8; 1 John 1:7.

• It is a Christ-like walk - 1 John 2:6.

Let's make it the walk of our entire lives—at home and away, in church and in the car, shopping and watching the game, eating out and relaxing at Grandma's…

PRAYER: Dear God, please show me where I live one way to impress or not to offend others, and another way at home. Help me to "walk within my house with a perfect (blameless) heart." Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

The long view

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 4:16-5:10

TO CHEW ON: Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him." 2 Corinthians 5:9


Sometimes it's a good idea to pull back and look at life's big picture. That's what Paul appears to be doing here.

Something seems to have made him super aware of the fragility of his mortal life. It could have been pain, sickness, aging, or simply weariness that sparked statements like: "… we have this treasure in earthen vessels. … We are hard-pressed on every side … we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing. … For we who are in this tent groan…" (2 Corinthians 4:7,8,16; 5:4).

And so he reasons with himself and his readers about why it is important to not lose heart but keep going.

Because this life we live, encased in its frail body, is not all there is.

"For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens" - 2 Corinthians 5:1.

Because inevitable death is not something to be feared. Rather it is the means of realizing the hope that energizes us.

"We are confident, yes well pleased rather to be absent form the body and to be present with the Lord" - 2 Corinthians 5:8.

Because we will be held accountable for how we have lived our lives.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" - 2 Corinthians 5:10.

I keep getting reminders of life's frailty and brevity. A recent hip fracture has showed me how little it takes to slow me down and put a crimp in my independence. More and more now I hear of people my age and younger dying. Their last days often appear to be the test of a lifetime as they soldier through illness and pain. And so Paul's encouragement here to keep going in view of what's ahead past all this mortal life stuff is a good reminder for me. You too?

PRAYER: Dear God, it's easy for me to get fixated on this life. Please help me to raise my sights to what's beyond and live  focused on eternal values. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Dissolved

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Peter 3:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Therefore since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness." 2 Peter 3:11

To the nine people that boarded a charter flight from Vancouver to Kelowna, Thursday October 27th, 2011, started out as an ordinary day. But halfway through their trip captain Luc Fortin knew something was not ordinary about that flight.*

Passenger Carolyn Cross remembers his announcement. Though his words downplayed the gravity of their situation: ("...there is a small leak on the left side of the engine... he's sorry but it shouldn't take that long to get back,") the way his hands shook told her this was serious. "I knew we were going to die," she said. Her response was to take out her iPhone and write goodbye letters to her kids. She managed to hit "send" seconds before the plane crashed onto a highway 900 meters from the runway. Captain Fortin died that day. Others were badly injured.

This scenario is a dramatic illustration of how suddenly life can change. It is also a reminder that we will all someday come to our moment of "all these things" being "dissolved."

Peter talks about that time for planet earth as it melts under God's judgment. Such a scenario may seem far off  and vague incentive for us to change our ways. But when we translate it into a warning of how unexpected yet imminent is the dissolution of one's personal world, it feels like reason to pay attention.

Let's follow Peter's admonition to spend the time we have left getting ready for that inevitable dissolve: "And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight" - 2 Peter 3:14 NLT


PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to live with the reality of life's end in mind. Amen.

MORE: Only 22 more sleeps till Christmas! (if the Lord wills)

Advent Calendar - December 3

Christmas Fact: 

Advent wreaths are a church and family tradition. Made out of greenery these round wreaths sit flat or hang horizontally.

The wreath holds four candles and another sits in the center. Tomorrow in churches around the world, people will be lighting that first candle on the wreath (signifying Expectation or Hope) because tomorrow is the first Sunday of Advent.

Open December 3

Find out more about Advent wreaths, their beginnings, their significance and their uses, here.

* Read entire article: "Passenger on doomed flight sent goodbye message to her kids."