Day 113: Reality

"So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound - think of it - for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?"  Luke 13:16

This statement sums up a series of ideas that Jesus had been teaching.

Basically, whenever we come up to God, the truth will be revealed.  The truth will be revealed, and the fact of whether we were supporting the truth will also become very clear.  Jesus has shown us that the way others live their lives should be completely irrelevant to us.  This argument reaches its height when the Pharisees tell Jesus that there are six other days where one could be healed.  But Jesus shows that it doesn't matter how God will take care of these situations, for they will be taken care of perfectly.

Think of it, Jesus commands.  Think of it, does it matter that somebody around you is praising God in a certain way that's different than the way you are?  Does it really matter whether somebody speaks in a different language and praises in yet another one?  Does it really matter that somebody else who is a different color is receiving the same grace that you are?  None of these should.

Instead, think about your own life.  How strong is your faith?  How can you strengthen it?  Do you need to be healed?  Do you need God's grace?  Do you have gifts from God?  Do you even know what's going to happen tomorrow, let alone in the next hour?

Jesus tells us not to worry about the things that are not in our control, for they are going the way they need to.  They are going to become opportunities for you to walk even closer to God.  In fact, contrary to the plans you might have for your life, the methods that God will use in order to direct your life will be unusual and uncommon.  God has a plan for you, and it's a very unique one.  Learn to follow it, and don't let anything or anyone tempt you away from it. 

Day 110: Our Strength

"For our defense is from the Lord and from the Holy One of Israel, our King."  Psalm 88:19 (89:18)

This is a verse that is very powerful, but it's something that we don't always take entirely seriously.

We live our lives in a very rough and cruel world.  We live where there are people so filled with hate that they will kill indiscriminately.  There are people so filled with greed that they will lower as many people as possible just to get the riches that they want.  There are people so filled with envy that they will lie about so many people around them just to feel better.  After thinking about this, it becomes apparent that we do need a defense in this world and in this life.

To go a step further, if we know where our defense is, wouldn't that also be where all of our lives are coming from?  The one who gave us life is the one who is protecting us, just as a mother does for her children.  Our defense comes from the one who gives us life and power.  This is important to remember because we can't just be living our lives as if we are alone in all that we do.  When you think about how many things you have to take care of, it can start to get overwhelming.  Think about that dream you are pursuing.  Now think about the job you're working at.  Is that where you want to be?  What about your family?  Are you satisfied with it?  Are you satisfied with your friends?  Your body?  The list can go on forever.

The reason why we need to remember that our defense comes from the Lord is because the Lord has a plan for each one of us.  God has a plan for all of our lives, and God defends all of those lives because they need to go in the way they need to go.  God provides us with moments to celebrate the grace that we have, moments to strengthen our faith, moments to come closer to God, moments to preach, moments to cry, moments to come, and moments to go.  When we remember to put our lives into God's hands, there is nothing that can get in the way.  God is our ultimate defense.  It's time to respect that and live accordingly.

Day 026: Facing the Facts

From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised on the third day.  Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!" Matthew 16:21-22

The disciples followed Jesus around and made valiant attempts at understanding all that he had to teach.  However, in a passage like this one, we learn that they were fine with following Jesus, just so long as the mission lined up with their own views.

In the same way, we haven't changed much, nearly two thousand years after the fact.  We treat Jesus as if he is our chauffeur, our butler, our servant.  Instead, we should be treating Jesus with reverence, remembering that we are here to serve him.  Jesus, through his mission, taught us that we are going to have to go through some difficult times in order to achieve all that needs to be done here on earth.

In the Bible, we see that the apostles didn't really get the ball rolling until they had witnessed the Pentecost.  They had to wait until they openly received the Holy Spirit in order to start their missionary work.

The lesson is that we don't have to wait to start.  We just need to be willing.  We need to join each other with one accord so that we can listen to the voice of God, so that we can understand what our mission is, so we can receive the Holy Spirit.  God will always provide for the way, but we just need to be willing to stop at the doorway so that God can give us our lunchbox on our way out the door.

Day 025: The Journey

So Joseph said to them, "Do not be afraid, for I belong to God.  But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."  Genesis 50:19-20

Perhaps it is just because of reading stories like this, but I do like to live my life by looking for the reasoning behind all the things that happen.  I like to think about what people mean, especially those who have fallen away from my life or those whom I have removed.

Growing up, I have been taught many times that God has a plan for my life, and I won't always understand it, but I need to maintain my faith.  As I have grown up, I have learned that all of this is very true.  God is taking us in so many directions, but we need to remain faithful to the fact that God is walking with us every step of the way.

The best part of this, though, is that God will show us so many new and different things that we'd never imagined.  Many times, God shows us things we had pushed away.  God brings us new foods that we had pushed away as children.  God brings us new music we had covered our ears from.  God brings us new pictures that we had torn up and burned on our own time.

Let's take the time to listen to God and to be receptive to all of the new and glorious things God has for us.  Let us pause to look all around us, to absorb our new environment rather than barreling through and trampling the delicate plants along the way.