Genesis 24:1-14

You are where you are today because you have chosen to be there.”

      Harry Browne

Probably the most asked a question from believers in the world is, “What is God’s will?”  Have you ever been in a place where you knew you were lost, but you couldn’t find the place you were on a map?  When I was in college, several friends went to a wedding in Chicago.  I had my car filled with no one that knew where we were, except that we were in Chicago.  The two other cars whose passengers knew where they were going decided to leave us in the dust.  It wasn’t until we were well into Wisconsin that we figured out that we were lost.  It has been that way in our spiritual lives at times, as well.  We keep walking, and it just seems that everyone and everything has passed you by.  You find yourself buried in a corner giving God ultimatums for direction.  There is a way for you to find what God desires of your life.  The first principle for receiving God’s guidance is knowing God’s Word.  We must have a thorough knowledge of God’s will and purposes to help direct our actions and decisions. That knowledge of God’s will comes primarily from God’s Word. God’s Word reveals God’s plan, principles and purposes. Knowledge of these is essential to even beginning to receive God’s guidance. It is Abraham’s knowledge of God’s word that leads him to make the first step in the right direction in receiving God’s guidance.  The second principle for receiving God’s guidance is commitment to God’s will.  It is one thing to know what God’s will is through His Word and another thing completely to be committed to doing His will without compromise. One of the conditions under which Abraham received God’s providential guidance was his complete commitment to doing God’s will. This story reveals to us that God guides us when we are committed to His will and not our own, no matter how difficult it sometimes is to do God’s will. The third principle for receiving God’s guidance is trusting in God’s Ways.  Trust is absolutely essential if you are to be led by God because you will never maintain your commitment to obeying Him and waiting on Him unless you really trust in Him. You must trust that He will provide everything necessary to fulfill His will for your life in His own way. This is what Abraham did. He trusted God to providentially provide a wife for Isaac from outside of Canaan, even though that was extremely unlikely.

The fourth principle for receiving God’s guidance is to pray for God’s Wisdom.  The servant did not just assume that he would recognize whom God had provided as a wife for Isaac. He prayed for guidance and wisdom.  Do you desire God’s guidance?  It I never too late to begin to learn His Word, commit to His will, trust His ways and pray for His wisdom.  In fact, why not spend some time right now doing just that.

Exodus 30:22-30

“Present suffering is not enjoyable, but life would be worth little without it. The difference between iron and steel is fire, but steel is worth all it costs. Iron ore may think itself senselessly tortured in the furnace, but when the watch-spring looks back, it knows better. David enjoyed pain and trouble no more than we do, but the time came when he admitted that they had been good for him. Though the aspect of suffering is hard, the prospect is hopeful, and the retrospect will start a song, if we are "the called according to his purpose," in suffering.”

      Maltbie Davenport Babcock

I do not like to cook.  I am not very good at cooking (unless macaroni and cheese out of a box counts).  However, I do like to eat.  In fact, I LOVE to eat.  I eat just about any kind of food with the exception of spicy food.  I have found out in all of my years that food that is not cooked according to a certain recipe (unless it was mom’s) was not consistently good.  Certainly, if you leave out the sugar, and the right amount at that, the sugar cookie does not taste quite right.  Well, there is a recipe for an anointing, and it is found in the oil that was used to anoint the things of the tabernacle in the Old Testament.  If we are willing to “cook” our lives with this recipe we can be saturated with God’s anointing.  
The first ingredient was Liquid Myrrh.  Myrrh was used to prepare bodies for burial. In order to get its beautiful sweetness it had to be crushed.  Myrrh speaks of death. There is no anointing without death. If we want to know God’s anointing, we have to die to ourselves. Die to the old person that we once were. Die to our own agenda - our own desires and dreams, anything not born of God. If we are going to depend on God, we have to die to our own abilities and resources.  If we do not come to this place of dying to ourselves on our own, then God may have to bring "crushing" circumstances into our lives to bring us to the place where we will die.  Do not despise the crushing that God allows into your life.  
The second ingredient was Sweet Cinnamon.  Cinnamon was used for flavor, and it gave off a very pleasant smell. Its fragrance was beautiful in the Tabernacle because it counteracted the stench of the animal sacrifices.  Cinnamon speaks of sweetness. If you want God to pick you up and anoint you to use you, there has to be sweetness about your life.  
The third ingredient was Sweet-smelling Cane (or calamus).  The Calamus plant grows in miry soil. To get this plant to smell you had to beat it. The more you beat it the better the aroma.  Again, God’s anointing is able to increase in your life the more you pass through the school of hard knocks, and God is able to fashion your character.  
The fourth ingredient was Cassia.  This spice grows only at elevations above 8000 feet. You have got to get up on the mountain to get it.  If you desire God’s anointing - you have got to reach up to the heights. Get on the mountain with God. There is no shortcut to the anointing - we have got to pray, seek God, study, love and work. Jesus lived in the anointing of the Spirit - and for that He maintained a close walk with the Father in prayer at all times.  
Finally, all the ingredients were mixed with olive oil. Now look at the picture we have here. All these ingredients mingled together with a bottle of oil produced the anointing compound that was called “holy”. Watch now … the Lord will combine all the good and difficult things in your life with the oil of His Holy Spirit. A sweet anointing will form in you, and He will be able to use you in incredible ways.  Are you ready for an anointing?

Read Esther 8:15-17

“Thoughts lead on to purpose, purpose leads on to actions, actions form habits, habits decide character, and character fixes our destiny.”

      Tryon Edwards

 This passage shares with us the joy and gladness that the Jewish nation felt because of a king’s decree. Notice, however, that this passage takes place toward the end of Esther’s book. We have to look at how the joy and gladness was produced. Once upon a time, there was a man that had nobility in his blood. The King above all other officials elevated this man. He was the King’s right hand man, and all others were inferior to him. Not only was the nobleman honored, he believed he was worthy of honor. He felt so strongly that he was above all others, that when one man refused to bow before him; the nobleman became enraged. Consumed with hatred, the nobleman devised a plan to destroy the one that refused to bow, and not only that one man, but also that man’s entire race. The scheme would have succeeded were it not for the courage of one orphan. Her parents named her after a small bush that had black berries and pink or white flowers. The delicate petals, when crushed and refined, yield a fragrant perfume. The crushing began early. Kneeling beside the silent graves of her mother and father, the orphan took the hand of her cousin who raised her as his own. Broken within but beautiful without, one day she won the favor of a King. God’s purposes, however, were greater than royalty; it was not enough for the orphan to be Queen. Position was simply the doorway to the true destiny God offered her. It is at this point in time that the lives of the nobleman and the orphan intersected to change the course of history. The nobleman described the man that would not bow a traitor and an enemy. The orphan called the unbending one, cousin and father. The nobleman craved honor for himself. The orphan laid down all she had for the love of her people. The nobleman we remember as evil Haman who was executed for his deception. The orphan we remember as Hadassah, Queen Esther, who—crushed and refined—spread the life-giving fragrance of joy to her entire nation. Such costly perfume is the product of sacrifice, not privilege; the work, not of fragile human honor but of God’s unbending favor. What has been crushed in your life recently? What unexpected promotions have fallen into your lap? Could it be that God is allowing life to crush you into a sweet aroma of joy and gladness? Could it be that there is a greater destiny that God has designed for you and your family? Do not be quick to dismiss the twist and the turns in your life because around every bend you may find the true purpose of life.

Read Psalm 16:8

“I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

    Henry David Thoreau

Recently we took our son to the park to play on the swings.  He loved everything about the park.  He would climb all over the jumbo gym set with the ladders and the slides.  It seemed that he really enjoyed everything.  However, the trip would not have been complete if he had not been able to soar through the air upon the swing that Dad and Mom pushed.  Swing sets have come a long way since I was a kid.  I remember the one that we had in our backyard.  It was one of those hollow steel sets that when you got to a certain height swinging the legs would come out of the ground and you thought your life was surely coming to an end every time you experienced the thump of the legs hitting the earth once again.  Today, swing sets are riveted to the ground so that human armies are unable to move them.  The swings, for just a moment let you defy the laws of gravity, and for a brief second you are able to fly.  Dreams do much the same thing.  As we dream, we press past the confines of what is and what has been. As our minds dare to see the unseen, our imagination fuels our faith and we begin to trust God for something more.  Many people gave up dreaming years ago because the process became too dangerous.  Just when they would let themselves get a little air under them, the legs of the dream would seem to come out of the ground and strike terror into their hearts.  However, God is not like the old, hollow steel swing sets that move when you get too high.  God is immovable and if we allow ourselves to get connected to Him, we are safe to dream once again.  How long has it been since you dreamed?  When was the last time you jumped into the swing set of life and allowed the soaring Spirit of God to push beyond your wildest imaginations?

Read Philippians 3:3-8

“I have everything, yet have nothing; and although I possess nothing, still of nothing am I in want.”

Terence (185 BC - 159 BC)

The apostle Paul had more reasons than any of us today to glory in his accomplishments, and yet he made it clear that his résumé meant nothing to him. In fact, Paul counted "all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ." The truth is, Paul did not lay aside anything to follow Christ that he should not have laid aside. He had been super-religious as a Pharisee, trying to gain entrance into heaven in his own power. Today, many try to replace relationship with religion, or sacred piety.  However, when Paul had an encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus, he learned that a relationship with the living God surpassed everything he had ever done or could do on his own. His accomplishments were rubbish. Actually, at the very bottom line, he had given up nothing of value and yet gained everything. God is standing on the doorsteps of people that are afraid to give something up to follow Him.  How many of us today refuse to lay aside those things that have no value? How many of us so pursue an intimate relationship with Jesus that we count all else as loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Him, really knowing Him? Are you willing to lay aside everything that competes with your love and devotion for Christ? As you live moment-by-moment, do you make knowing Him your top priority?

Read I Corinthians 2:6-14

“How do the geese know when to fly to the sun? Who tells them the seasons? How do we, humans, know when it is time to move on? As with the migrant birds, so surely with us, there is a voice within, if only we would listen to it, that tells us so certainly when to go forth into the unknown."             Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

 

The Lord still speaks today. Those who belong to Him learn to recognize His voice and listen carefully to it. God’s goals in speaking to us include that we: Comprehend the truth. God wants His perfect Word to take root in our mind and become a permanent part of our thinking. (Romans 12:2) Scripture is central to God’s plan that we understand who He is and what His purposes are. His Spirit explains everything we need to know as children in His royal family. Conform to the truth. God desires that we bear a strong resemblance to His Son, so He uses both His Spirit and the Scriptures to shape us from the inside out. His objective is that biblical truth will be reflected in our daily choices and lifestyle. Communicate the truth. God not only wants us to assimilate His Word and be transformed by it; He also desires to work through us to impact others’ lives. People will take notice when our responses show the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) However, unless we have submitted to the truth and been changed by it, our words will lack divine power and have little effect on the listener. If we are absorbing the Scriptures and allowing God to mold us, then His divine “fingerprints” will be visible in our plans, schedules, thoughts, and attitudes. As a result, our conversation will reflect His viewpoint and include topics important to Him. Achieving God’s goals requires a teachable heart, a cooperative spirit, and a listening ear. Do you have all three?  Our hearts lie to us and tell us that we are in control, that we know what is best for us and our family and no one can tell us any different.  Sometimes we just do not want to do what we know is right and then there are the times, like a little child, we ignore our heavenly Father.  God desires to be intimate with us: to whisper with His still small voice into our lives.  He does not want to have to yell through the whirlwind.  Are you ready to listen?

Read John 1:1-18

“Feeling is deep and still; and the word that floats on the surface

  Is as the tossing buoy, that betrays where the anchor is hidden.”

      Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Many things stir my emotions: worship, silence, a kiss from my wife, my son’s belly laugh or the voice of treasured friends from around the country. Most of the time, however, my feelings are awakened by something slightly less than a Hallmark moment: being misunderstood, driving in rush hour traffic, restless nights, and customer assistance numbers that do not let you speak to a human. Whether pleasant or painful, our emotions are in need of cautious and careful monitoring. Why? Because we live in a world that loudly proclaims, “What feels good is good. What feels bad is bad.” It is in such an environment we can easily mistake feeling for fact. Emotions are not always accurate reflections of reality or of God’s will. They are not always truth’s vocal twin. The perspective for your life based on emotions will be one of many ups and downs, twists and turns and near constant turbulence. Our safeguard in a world where culture and media seek to benefit by manipulating our emotions is God’s unchanging Word. God’s truth is subject neither to circumstance nor to news broadcasts. His Word is nonperishable, immutable, and eternally free of decay! If we live our life based upon the precepts of what God has already spoken through His Word, whether the sun shines or the clouds hang low, in good times and not so good times, we will, nevertheless, obtain a peace that passes all understanding. The main reason that we fail in our emotions is because we believe that the Bible is a good book, but we fail to realize that it is the embodiment of God Himself. John lets us in on a little secret right from the beginning of his gospel when he states that the Word became flesh. The reason why we need, and have the opportunity, to trust His Word, is that we are really trusting Him. What was your last storm that caused you to question everything about God? When did you face dire situations that caused your entire life to turn upside down? Now, how did you feel? No matter how you felt, God and His Word never changed. It is forever established in heaven.  

Read Philippians 1:1-6

“Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.”

Jean Cocteau

Faded, broken, graceful lines are still visible upon the canvas of the painting’s original magnificence. Possibly hundreds of years earlier an artist had taken up a brush and with simple paint created this incredible scene. Now worn and weathered, the painting barely echoes its former brilliance. Through the cracks and tears, it gives silent testimony to the skill of its original artist. Wind, rain, heat, admirers—with each touch glory has departed. Centuries after its creation one cannot help but wonder about the creator, whether he was a pained soul or happy individual. One can feel a surprising connection with a painting of this magnitude. There is something familiar in comparison to anyone that dares to look closely in the mirror. The reflection too feels weathered.  Pain, conflict, disappointment, sin—with each touch, glory has departed from that individual’s life. The cracks, and chips of life with those same faded, broken lines, are only a faint reflection of what God had originally intended. Any thoughts that are present drift to the future of the painting. New artists could attempt to restore it, but its original artist could no longer take up a brush. Only one could truly return the painting to its intended magnificence. Only one saw the painting in his mind and felt the painting in his soul before others could see it with their eyes. That one master artist passed long ago. There ends the similarity between the painting and the picture in the mirror because the Original Artist of that face in the mirror—He still lives! He still remembers His master design. Our Creator is able and willing to restore the faded and broken portions of poor man’s souls. Hope exists for us--the weathered and worn--because our Original Artist lives! It is a wonderful thing to experience the molding and restoring of the Master’s hand. Can you feel those gentle hands forming you? Will you allow Him to enter your life and continue the work that He so desires to finish? 

“The swiftest steed to bear you to your goal is suffering... Nothing is more gall-bitter than suffering, nothing so honey sweet as to have suffered. The most sure foundation for this perfection is humility, for he whose nature here creeps in deepest depths shall soar in spirit to highest height of deity; for joy brings sorrow and sorrow brings joy.”

Eckhart

“I wouldn’t have written the script of my life this way, Lord.” 

“What would you have changed my son?” 

“I would have deleted unnecessary pain.” 

“What kind of pain is that?” 

“Senseless misunderstandings, incurable illnesses, and undeserved injustice. These produce nothing but aches in my heart and anguish in my soul. I could have done without them Father.” 

“I too could have done without sin’s shadows and pain’s piercing. But because of choices made long ago and choices re-made every moment I myself had a choice to make: turn my back on sin’s shadows or personally embrace pain’s piercing.” 

“What did you choose Father?”

 “I chose the path of what you call ‘unnecessary’ pain.”

 “Why? How?” 

“Actually, You helped me. Before you were born, I saw you and my love for you was greater than life. Through sweat and blood, I measured my love for you and its passion fixed my life willingly to a cross. By embracing pain, I robbed sin of its power to crush you.” 

“Then the shadows will not destroy me! But there are still tears in my heart and aches in my soul.” 

“Yes. They are in mine as well. But even there you can find a treasure if you allow the tears in your heart and aches in your soul to grow dependence upon me in your spirit.”  

Aren’t you glad our Father loved us enough to suffer for us?  There is nothing in our lives as great as the pain and suffering that He endured for our opportunity to have life.  What things in your life seem to be one of the pains of life that you just cannot get rid of?  Take the time to thank God for them now, and you will fulfill the words of Paul in Philippians 3:10, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.”

“Death is no more than passing from one room into another. However, there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.”

Helen Keller

Have you buried any dreams lately?  We thought our dreams were God’s dreams. We prayed, believed, made plans and worked hard. However, now it is over.  So here we sit, graveside, by our lifeless hopes. As we sit, we begin to doubt… “Did I miss something? Should I have prayed or done more? Or perhaps I never really heard God in the first place…if this was not God’s will, then how can I trust myself to ever think I hear Him?”  The disciples knew exactly what you are going through.  They had a dream that was cruelly crucified right in front of their eyes.  They were looking for the Messiah and they thought they had been following Him.  However, after a few years their dream was shattered by the penetration of an iron spike into the hands and feet of that dream.  They scattered in fear, thinking that all hope was gone and there would be no real tomorrow.  They felt that everything they had put stock in was faltering.  The sealed tomb confirmed the fact that the dream had died – Jesus had died.  Speechless, Jesus’ followers kept watch until the very end. They held on to flickering hope until its flame was extinguished. Then they gave themselves permission to bury their dream. Burial is a symbol of respect.  When dreams shatter, we too need to give ourselves time to gently collect the broken pieces and wrap them respectfully in tears. This is not about prematurely abandoning hope. This is about accepting reality. Denying Jesus’ death would not return Him to the disciples. It was healthy for them to permit a burial. Faith is not threatened by funerals.  Take the time. Prepare the spices. Preserve and honor the memories. Rest. Rest is essential—a need, not a luxury—if we are to remain healthy through the burial of dreams.  The exciting part is that just like the seed that dies in the ground, and just like Jesus died, in just a few short days the dream that seemed dead will sprout to life in an even greater fashion.  What dream seems to have died in your household?  Have you buried it yet?  When you do finally bury it, get ready because a great resurrection is about to take place.

Read I Peter chapter 1

Immortality is the glorious discovery of Christianity.”

       William Ellery Channing

The brightness must have been incredible. It was so bright that the strongest sunglasses would not have prohibited the penetration of the light’s rays. It causes man to fall to his face and bury his eyes in the ground. When Moses saw the brightness of God’s glory, he could not physically bear the brightness thereof. The most exciting part is that Moses did not see all of His glory, but only the hind parts, or the leftover parts of His glory. 

Peter lets man know that there is an inheritance that is free from corruption. It is the full aspect of the brightness of the glory of God. It goes beyond our imagination and comprehension of things that are eternal. In this life, everything has an ending. From the time of a day to the end of physical life, all things bear a conclusion. Our finite minds only comprehend things that end.

However, we know of three things that never end, and often, it is  impossible to grasp. God, His Word and our inheritance are the only things that will never end. What a promise. Someday soon, everything that we know will be gone, and everything will be new. All hurt, sorrow, stress and heartache will end and be replaced by a joy that we really do not even understand yet. With all of our imperfection, it goes beyond reason that we should be able to dwell with a holy God, but through the blood of Christ, we receive our inheritance; we are able to dwell with God. 

We often look at this passage as referring to some future event, and that is correct, for it is the primary purpose of this writing. However, we have received the earnest of our inheritance when we were born of the water and the Spirit. Therefore, we have the opportunity to dwell in the spiritual realm with God Almighty. We can boldly enter His throne room, and we can lay our petitions at His feet. What needs or desires have you refrained from asking God for because you felt unworthy to receive it? What would you ask God if you would receive it without question? Well, our inheritance allows us to ask our heavenly Father anything, and whether He says, “Yes, no, maybe or we’ll see,” we know He has heard. All of heaven is at your beckoned call because you are a part of His family.

Read Philippians Chapter Two

“You must give some time to your fellow men.  Even if it is a little thing, do something for which you get no pay but the privilege of doing it.”    Albert Schweitzer

When I was a little boy, I wanted to be just like my Dad. I watched the way he dealt with people, the way he played sports, and especially the way he preached. Something inside of me swayed my idea of who I was by who my father was. When I grew a little older, I realized that, as good as my father was, I needed to find my own place in this world, and more importantly, in God’s Kingdom. I began to look at what God desired for my life, and began to question and search for the example of my heavenly Father. It took me to Philippians chapter two. When Jesus was born, he wasn’t born to royalty, although he deserved to be. When he was a young boy, he did not have servants waiting on him, although all of heaven was at his beckoned call. When he was a young man, he built furniture with his adopted father, Joseph, with the wood that he created. When his ministry began, he chose some fishermen, tax collectors and zealots for his companions. These men were hardly the ones that most others would have chosen, but Jesus saw something different in them. That brings us to Philippians 2 where we see the man with all of heaven and earth at his disposal become a servant to you and I so that we one day would be able to reign with him. Notice that he did not pick-and-choose whom he would serve, he served all mankind. It is very easy to serve people that we deem worthy of servitude, but it is entirely Christ-like to serve all. When I realized that Jesus was calling me to serve, I began to focus my life choices to attempt to fulfill that call. The call to serve is not only to the preacher or the teacher, but it is a call for all that want to call Jesus their heavenly Father. If you want to be like Christ, you must begin to do the things that Christ did. Are you willing to serve the neighbor that constantly has music blaring from his home? Would you serve that family that never cleans their yard? Would you be willing to serve your employee? Your spouse? Your children? Would you be willing to serve that friend that slapped you in the face, talked about you behind your back and betrayed you to others? If not, you have not yet achieved the goal of being like your daddy. The good news is that we have something to aim for. Each family can make the decision this week to try harder, and not only try, but also in the mindset of the Spirit, become more like Christ.

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Carl Jung

It is now a week after the beginning of the New Year and many people, if not most, have already failed to live up to their resolutions.  The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that too many people fail to attain the goal that was set.  For New Year’s resolutions, failure is often something that will not cause great condemnation to befall us, however, the fact that so many have failed in living for God does tend to cause great condemnation.  However, that condemnation is not of God, but conviction is.  Condemnation drives one away from God while conviction draws one to God.  If you have failed and feel you cannot approach God, you are filled with condemnation.  If you have failed and are drawn to the presence of God, you have been graced by conviction.  It is exciting to know that God does not condemn.  It does not matter if you failed a million times last year, or a million times last week, God is ready with open arms to embrace you upon your repentance.  Do not allow the adversary to speak condemnation into your spirit, but allow the conviction of the Holy Ghost to penetrate your life and direct you to the throne of grace.  It is interesting to note that Romans eight begins by dealing with the fact that condemnation is possible, if we do not follow the Spirit, and it ends with the fact that if we do follow after the Spirit that there is nothing in this world that can separate us from the love of Christ.  Christ’s love is the embodiment of God because Scripture tells us that God IS love.  Christ’s love led Him to Calvary, and if that mindset is the embodiment of God, it will have to take someone willfully walking away from God to lose out with Him because nothing we can do is too bad for His love not to embrace us.  If you knew that God’s love would embrace you through all things, what risks would you consider taking?  Loving someone else?  Doing something for God that is beyond your ability?  Take up the challenge and know that God is behind you, supporting you in your endeavors for Him.

It is a New Year. New dreams. New ideas. New goals. New interests. There is something about the turning of a calendar that intrigues even the most stoic person. There just seems to be a breath of fresh air that enters the lungs and fills the soul with new hope for the New Year. We hold to this annual song of hope that things will not only be different than the previous year, but also better.  Genesis 1:1 states that “In the beginning God created…” and there is something that excites the spirit of man that before all circumstance and worldly entities, God had a hand in their creation. While man has perverted the uses of the things that God created, however, there was nothing until God did create. God created all that there is and so it is vital for everyone to realize that if God created everything, He can fix anything. If your life was filled with chaos last year, He can calm the New Year. If your life was filled with heartache last year, He is able to speak from creation and heal from the smallest to the greatest of hurts. If your family seemed detached or dysfunctional last year, He is able to pull together the frayed pieces into a cohesive family unit. No matter what took place last year, God is standing at your door knocking, and if you allow Him, He will enter and make all things new. As a family, what would you like to see different in this New Year? Individually, what would you like to see God create in your life?

Read Ephesians 3:15-21

     The records of history are filled with amazing statements of men whose vision was clouded on some important issues…

             On world population:  “The population of the earth decreases every day, and, if this continues, in another ten centuries the earth will be nothing but a desert.”  (Montesquieu, 1743)

             On anesthesia: “The abolishment of pain in surgery is a chimera.  It is absurd to go on seeking it today.  Knife and pain are two words in surgery that must forever be associated in the consciousness of the patient.  To this compulsory combination we shall have to adjust ourselves.” (Dr. Alfred Velpeau, 1839)

On aviation: “The demonstration that no possible combination of known substances, known forms of machinery, and known forms of force can be united in a practical machine by which man shall fly long distances through the air, seems to the writer as complete as it is possible for the demonstration of any physical fact to be.” (Simon Newcomb, 1903)

On the atomic bomb: “That is the biggest fool thing that we have ever done.  The bomb will never go off, and I speak as an expert in explosives.” (Admiral William Leahy to President Harry S. Truman, 1945)

     Though these men were well meaning, they just didn’t seem to see things in the right way.  Their sight for the future was distorted by the seemingly impossible circumstances of their era.  They looked at the natural world and concluded that certain things were just not possible.  As we consider their words today, be admonished not to look at the spiritual world and conclude that certain things are not possible, for, with God all things are possible.

     As we gaze into our futures, we need to have 20/20 spiritual vision.  We need to pray together that in the midst of our walk with God, our families will be experience a unifying power of seeing and believing God for something that is far beyond the imagination.

January 13

Genesis 2:15 “And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.”

     It is the foundational question that we must answer, “What are you living for?” It is exciting reading stories from the underground church. There was a house church in old Russia that met in small groups so as not to arouse the KGB. It was at such a meeting after they began to quietly worship that the door burst open and two soldiers quickly entered with automatic weapons raised.

     They lined everybody up against the wall and threatened to kill anyone that did not denounce Christ. If they would denounce Christ they could leave the room and nothing else would be said. Slowly, several began to leave and yet there were a few that stood against the threat of death. After a few minutes the soldiers gave everyone one last chance to leave. A few more people slipped out the door. Those that were left looked down at their children with a look of reassurance. Finally, the soldiers turned and said to those that stayed to raise their hands one more time- and praise the Lord. These soldiers had been converted at an earlier raid. They made this statement to those that remained, “We have learned from experience that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot be fully trusted.”

     The only way that you know what you will live for is to examine what you are willing to die for. It is only through the mindset of being willing to die for something that makes it truly worth living for. The reason why America is so awe inspiring is because there were men, women and children willing to die to make it so. What price you are willing to pay determines the value of that which you possess. So, will you say with Joshua today, "As for me and my house, we WILL serve the Lord!"

Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.

Albert Einstein

January 10

Matthew 7:14 “Because strait [is] the gate, and narrow [is] the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

     When I lived in Kansas City, there was an area that I dreaded to drive, especially at rush hour. The place was called the Grandview Triangle. It was a mess of roads that converge at the same place, and traffic was often unbearable. The triangle had three major freeways, and a major highway all connecting in this area. What a place.

     I have found a lot of people that have been stuck in the Grandview Triangles of life. They have converged on a certain point, and they are now stuck in the traffic jams of life. From getting their children to school on time, to picking up Tommy from school and getting him to soccer practice, and at the same time getting Sally to Girl Scouts is physically draining. Add to that traffic, a superior at work riding your back about something seemingly irrelevant, an argument with your spouse before work, and oh, yeah, choir practice is at seven. The only time you have had all day to rest was the five minutes that you spent on the side of the road waiting for that policeman to write your ticket because you were speeding to get everything accomplished on the highway of life.

     We have all been there, done that, and made the t-shirt. Life gets so hectic that we often fail to see beyond this life into the life that has been promised to us, if we are born again. 

     There is some good news. In the midst of all that, there is this one thing: there is no traffic jam on the straight and narrow road. You know, that road that leads to heaven. Just think, shortly, all traffic in life will cease for the glory of your final destination.

We've traveled too far, and our momentum has taken over; we move idly towards eternity, without possibility of reprieve or hope of explanation.
Tom Stoppard

January 4

Genesis 19:26 “But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”

     The story of Lot’s wife is an interesting story of human behavior. It demonstrates the seen and the unseen. Abraham left Ur to find a city that he never saw, whose builder and maker was God. Lot’s wife saw the city that she wanted to be a part of and when faced with the reality of leaving that city for a place she did not know, she looked back.

     We face a similar situation almost daily. God is calling us to walk toward a city that we have not seen, and yet, we know is real. The New Jerusalem is a promise to those that follow after Christ. So, do we keep our eye on this world, or do we close our eyes to that which is around us, and look for a city whose builder and maker is God?

     I remember the time in my life when I was required by God to leave something for the unknown. I grew up playing hockey. I loved the sport, and still do. When I was in ninth grade, I had to make the decision to play for the high school team or continue Bible Quizzing. Really it wasn’t a decision between those two, though I thought it was. It really was between where God wanted me and where I wanted myself.

    I knew that God had called me to the ministry at the age of eleven. It was now at age 14 that I needed to make my decision. I read the passage of Lot’s wife. That was enough for me. I left hockey, never to play it again. In fact, I have rarely skated over the last 30 years because where God has taken me did not have much ice. I made a conscience decision to never look back, and by the grace of God, I never have. You see, Lot’s wife tried to hold onto two worlds, and lost them both. That was not going to be my story.

Compromise makes a good umbrella, but a poor roof; it is a temporary expedient, often wise in party politics, almost sure to be unwise in statesmanship.

James Russell Lowell

January 2

Isaiah 40:8, “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the Word of our God shall stand forever.”

     My favorite sections of any library are history and religion. What about you? Imagine if one Saturday morning you showed up at the library only to find your favorite books reduced to a pile of ashes.

     Centuries ago, that is what happened when thousands of books at the Library of Alexandria caught fire. Alexandria was a place to do research in the ancient world. Then, on a fateful day in 47 B.C., Julius Caesar set fire to his ships in the Alexandrian harbor to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. The fire soon spread to the docks and the naval arsenal, ultimately destroying 400,000 of the library’s precious scrolls.

     Such a tragedy shows just how perishable written materials can be. This makes the preservation of the Bible such a marvel. The Word of God has survived book-burnings, riots, revolutions, persecutions and catastrophes. Yet scholars tell us that manuscripts have been accurately preserved through millennia of copying.

     There is no other book of antiquity that is able to address the smallest to greatest problems of the modern era like the Bible. It is the greatest resource to the questions of life that has ever been written. Truly, mankind is blessed to have such a document at its disposal.

     God inspired the writing of Scripture (II Timothy 3:16) and has promised to preserve it through the centuries. So, the next time you open your Bible, take a moment to reflect on how precious it is, and thank God for keeping it safe for you.

There never was found, in any age of the world, either religion or law that did so highly exalt the public good as the Bible.
      Francis Bacon

December 25

Read John 1:1, 14, I Corinthians 13:12

     I apologize that this devotion may be a little lengthy, but it is Christmas and I cannot let this day go by without writing this.

     When I was a kid, Christmas was my favorite time of year. In Minnesota, in the middle of winter was the best. We would sled and skate and play snow football. My dad also grew up in Minnesota so he knew how awesome winter was. We would be off of school and dad would take a snow blower down the long hill of our driveway and then water it down so that we would just fly down on our sleds. He created a huge skating rink and kept it flooded so it would stay smooth.

     I remember all the baking that my grandma, mom and aunts would do. Invariably we smelled the aroma of Christmas wreath cookies, peanut butter with a Hershey kiss in the middle, and I will never forget the crumb cakes. I remember trying to figure out what I got for Christmas. I remember waking up on Christmas Eve knowing that we would soon be heading to grandma and grandpas for dinner and gifts (I think my mom has turned into the grandma now!). We would have a great time, and everything that was wrong in my young life seemed to fade away. I didn’t worry about math and English and all of my other school responsibilities. I remember when it was time to open gifts, the younger kids would pass out the gifts and we would tear into them. What did grandma get me?  What did my uncle Mike get me (he was just like one of the kids so we always knew it would be cool)? My mind and heart would begin to race because everything seemed perfect.

     Except one thing always bothered me, and it wasn’t just the lutefisk that my grandfather made us all try. As we were opening all of our gifts, it hit me that not all of my family and friends knew the greatest gift of all. From before the foundation of the world God was gift wrapping a plan so that we all could live eternally with Him. Throughout the Old Testament, people wanted to see God, but couldn’t because the package just wasn’t ready.  In Bethlehem, however, God opened up the greatest gift. He gave Himself.

     Imagine how Mary felt as that baby was born and she took Him in her arms. How exciting it was to see that God was beginning to reveal His gift to mankind. However, Mary and Joseph only saw a partial unwrapping of the gift that God truly designed.

     Today, people in the religious world will accept the birth of Jesus as someone that the Father sent, but when we realize that the whole atmosphere around the birth was just another layer of wrapping paper coming off in order to reveal to the world who He is. Everything about the life of Christ was simply more wrapping paper being removed from this great gift. We say today that we know Him. I ask, “Do we really?” Do you know Him beyond the scriptures? Is He so real that you have experienced Him?

 I have said all of that to say this. If God started to unwrap the gift at the beginning of time and He is not finished revealing Himself fully today, is it not safe to assume that God is still trying to reveal Himself in your life today?

     On this Christmas day, do not be satisfied with the celebration of Christ’s birth, but allow the gift to be unwrapped a little further in your spirit. Remember it is the greatest gift of all.