Yearly Archives: 2017

Good beginnings and Epic endings!

TODAY

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth—Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?…The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable—In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God—For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities–all things were created through him and for him…And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised…. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly…The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance—And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new”…  And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.”

Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of the human race as each new generation marches by?  It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last.  I alone am he—But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand—And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Gen 1:1 ESV; Is. 40:21, 28 ESV; Jn.1:1,2 ESV; Col. 1:18 ESV; II Cor. 5:15,17 ESV; II Pet.3:7,9 ESV; Rev 21:5-6 ESV; Is.41:4 NLT; Ps. 31:14-15 ESV; Phil.1:6 ESV

What are the implications of God being both beginning and ending of all that we are and all that we know?  Clearly our lives are His rightful domain.  Subjects of this King are in good hands for He is immeasurably mighty, incomprehensibly wise, and unimaginably good. The most blissful of fairy tale endings can’t compare to life in His coming Kingdom.  In the meantime, we can trust Him for the rest of the story when the page turn isn’t what we expected and when all our wishes are not granted, not yet anyway. 

While the world slides into rebellion and confusion (the two inevitably go together) we can know that God’s decrees are sure. Cultures and the individuals that shape them may flaunt or embrace God’s design, but they cannot escape its reality. There will be an accounting.  God will preside.  May our stories reflect the glory of life as He intended it to be in such a way that others will be drawn to bow to our Good King and find in Him a new beginning and an epic ending!
–LS

Light from first to last

TODAY

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light—And you shall command the children of Israel that they bring you pure oil of pressed olives for the light, to cause the lamp to burn continually.  In the tabernacle of meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall tend it from evening until morning before the LORD—“As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”—In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ—“You are the light of the world–like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.”—But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day—for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.

And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb—They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.  And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever—For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness.

Gen 1:3 ESV; Ex. 27:20-21 NKJV; Jn. 9:5 ESV; Jn. 1:4-5 ESV; II Cor. 4:6 ESV; Mt.5:14 NLT; Prov. 4:18 ESV; Eph. 5:8 ESV; Rev 21:23 ESV; Rev 22:4-5 ESV; Ps. 18:28 ESV

From first to last God brings light into a dark world.  We are creatures made to live in the light.  It is no wonder we love the lengthening days of spring, the glory of a sunrise, the glow of candlelight, and the play of light on water.  Darkness, no matter how pervasive, frightening or confusing cannot last.  It must give way before the Light of the World. 

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessèd, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
–Walter Smith, 1876

–LS

Confidence in the face of our greatest fears

TODAY

Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me… And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…even the Spirit of truth… I will not leave you as orphans…he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
Give thanks in all circumstances;
For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

This is what the great king of Assyria says:

‘What are you trusting in that makes you so confident?’

 Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.  For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised—May [you] be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it—For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.—Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe.

John 14:1,16-18,26; I Thess. 5:16-19; Heb. 13:20-21; Isaiah 36:4NLT; Heb 10:35-36; Col. 1:9-12; I Thess. 5:23-24; Heb 10:37-39; Heb 12:28 [ESV unless otherwise noted]

On the brink of horrific things to come Jesus counsels his disciples not to let their hearts be troubled.  Is this even possible?!  All of Scripture is laced with ‘FEAR NOT’s. This is surely God’s will for His children, made possible by His Spirit living in us, reminding us whose we are. He reminds us of God’s promises and God’s commands.  The two are inseparable.  As we follow the Spirit in rejoicing, praying, and being thankful people, as we follow His lead in worshiping our great God, we will be delivered from our obsessive fears and our stubborn anxieties.  They cannot cling to us when we have conceded our will to God’s.

I am reminded of the words to an old hymn:
 “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word.  What more can He say than to you He hath said–to you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?”
God grant us faith to believe the things we have heard till we know them deep in our souls where our darkest fears breed.
–LS

 

Bless the Lord who is my rock!

TODAY

 It wasn’t the pending medical appointment that I was dreading so much as the necessity of my driving into the big city alone for the first time and finding the doctor’s office!  I got up just a bit early and over toast and tea I opened the Word to my regular set of readings and there were these reassuring words to carry me out the door and on my way:

Bless the Lord who is my rock…He gives me strength…and skill.  He is my loving ally and…my tower of safety, my deliverer.—For every child of God defeats this evil world by trusting Christ to give the victory.—Say to those who are afraid, “Be strong, and do not fear, for your God is coming to destroy your enemies.  He is coming to save you.”

Ps.144:1,2; I Jn.5:4; Is.35:4 NLT

I may not have flesh-and-blood enemies as David did.  Sometimes my worst enemy seems to be myself with my built-in tendency to fear the unknown and to doubt my capabilities to handle what’s coming.  I don’t seem to be out-growing these childish fears.  Again and again I’m called to face them down with action I do everything to avoid.  So it is with wistfulness that I read this morning Isaiah’s description of the Way of Holiness where no lions will lurk and where there will be no dangers. This is the way of the Redeemed.  Its end–everlasting joy devoid of sorrow and mourning and surely of fear!  

And in the days and nights of anticipating dread ordeals my heart finds comfort in living and faithful Words.  And I must tuck in a line from an old chorus that hummed to me in the night: “All the sheep of His pasture fare so wondrously fine; His sheep am I.” Amen!

–LS

This is as good a spot as any to commend a cross-genre reading plan that has served me well for the last few years.  It’s a wonder-filled thing to see God’s heart reflected like light through a prism as I read chapters from Psalms and History, Prophets and Wisdom Lit, Gospels and Epistles each day. (No, not every day; life happens and I skip days but this is my go-to plan, always ready to go! I took a few months’ break recently but am back at it and still loving it!)  I have found it a remarkably refreshing way to hear God’s heart day by day. And it takes little more than half an hour most days. Read (lots) more at the Bible Reading Plans link in the side menu, and give it a try  ( :

 

No Longer Slaves!

TODAY

Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt and that the LORD your God brought you out with amazing power and mighty deeds.  That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day—The taskmasters were urgent, saying, “Complete your work, your daily task each day, as when there was straw.” And the foremen of the people of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not done all your task of making bricks today and yesterday, as in the past?”

And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”—Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.—For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.—So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.—The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”—He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

And when you eat and are full,  then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve.—Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Deut 5:15NLT; Ex. 5:13-14 ESV;  Mk. 2:27 ESV; Mt. 11:28 ESV; Mt. 12:8 ESV; Heb. 4:9-10 ESV; Rom 6:22-23 ESV; Rom. 8:15 NIV; Col. 1:13-14 ESV; Deut. 6:11-13 ESV; Mt. 11:29-30 ESV

Once slaves to sin and Satan’s devices, we who believe in the finished work of Jesus on our behalf are set free to live in service to a good King.  Just as the Sabbath rest set God’s people apart from the nations around them who worked all week long, so we display our new-bought status by the trusting and restful state of our souls.  We are a people freely given the soul-rest the world strives to find.

No longer demeaned and duty-bound slaves in never-ending bondage to burdens we cannot bear, we now gladly serve a Good Master who has our best interests at heart in all that He commands.  He calls us to share His likeness.  He welcomes us as his Beloved.  We can rest in this.  He who began this good work in us will carry it to completion. Our welfare is in His keeping, for after all, we are His.

–LS