December 15

Ephesians 5:11-14 (NIV)
11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.
13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

There is so much revelation in this passage that I was going to write about, but I am reminded of the purpose of this year’s blog – What did God speak to me. I have be about exposing darkness. Not talking about darkness to others necessarily, but exposing darkness because I am light. There are different ways to expose darkness. The way we all think of right off the bat is confrontation. This has to be done with much wisdom, but it clearly must be done at times. I just have to make sure that it is God’s timing to do it. The other ways are more subtle. They include my way of life exposing darkness. It is supposed to be such a stark contrast that conviction will fall. Similarly the presence of the Holy Spirit in my life brings light and conviction. Another way is teaching. My teaching must be able to expose and confront the darkness that tries to hide in all of us so that Jesus light can shine and people have a chance to get rid of that darkness.

Shine through me Lord! May I fearlessly confront and teach and may my life be one of purity, set apart for you.

December 14

Colossians 1:9-12 (NIV)
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

I didn’t get through one chapter of today’s reading when God spoke to me the life I need. I need the Word of God and the fellowship with the Spirit of God! I want to live worthy, pleasing God, bearing fruit, growing, being strong, enduring with joy and being thankful. The key is to be filled with knowledge of His will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. That certainly means I have to be in the Word of God, but it is more than that. It is reading the Word with the Spirit as my instructed/illuminator. It is spending time “praying in the Spirit” for understanding and wisdom. It is so much more than studying a text book, it is reaping the life, unveiling the mysteries, going deep with God and having His mind. Thank you for Your Word Lord. Teach me and reveal to me the depth of it, especially who I am in you and what my inheritance is! Keep pouring it out on me Papa, be patient with me, I want more!

December 13

Did you see that Paul told the crew “I told you so”. I thought that was funny, although some people might take that to mean they could say it too.

The first point of today’s reading was that Paul knew that disaster was coming. I want to be that connected with God so He can tell me things like that! Although I think I am that connected, and I think He doesn’t hide things from me, I haven’t got a lot of those warnings before – at least to my knowledge. At times I have gotten a few warnings, that little gnawing in my soul, and now that I think about it, God has warned me before more than I would like to admit. I just didn’t heed it, or doubted it was Him. He wants to guide me through life, why wouldn’t He “guide” me then? It takes time and focus to be guided.

The second thing that amazed me is that Paul was able to seek and HEAR the Lord in the midst of the storm. Wow! That is so hard for me. Seeking and hearing Him at church or when things are going well is nearly easy, but in the midst of turmoil of any kind, I find it hard to hear Him. There is too much of me talking and thinking and it is hard to quiet myself – how about you? Lord take me to place where I can hear your voice in any circumstance. I suppose that starts with listening all the time. Help me Lord, mold me, fill me with You!

December 11

It sure seems like Paul's life was preaching the gospel doesn't it? Everything else was to facilitate what his mission was. No matter what the cost and no matter what it took, he was bound and determined to complete his mission. It is said that Paul was rich because he made big tents. Maybe so, but there sure seems like there was plenty of want as well. It's funny what we get out of scripture sometimes. This is what I get, Paul was 100% in - all in! That is the way I want to live - all in - and not worrying about the worldly stuff.

December 10

Acts 20:24 (NIV)
24 However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.

Just this morning 2 evident flaws of my life showed themselves in glaring fashion. As I read this passage I couldn’t pass this verse without thinking I wish I could do that. I know that I can, but it just seems so hard. When things are going well we Christians can quote a verse like this with a smile on our face and preach it like Charles Spurgeon. However when you are hit in the face with a 2 x 4 about things in your life (not moral sins), this verse takes on longing. If I could live, really, think like this, I wouldn’t be so bummed about other things. If my life, my house, others opinions, or anything else didn’t matter so much, I would be so much freer to serve the Lord.

Help me to die to my life Lord. I am vexed by my own care, which seems good until it crushes me under it’s weight. I am undone before you today. I long to serve you with all I have. Help me dispose of these weights so I can be unleashed all the more. I will finish my race Lord – I am confident you will complete it with me. I give myself to you freshly today – I can’t run my life, there is too much worry in that. You are my source, my everything – I yield to you.

December 9

“In view of God’s mercy…” What mercy? The mercy that took us, who didn’t seek Him and save us! That is why we lay down our lives! We have to look back at our before state to understand His mercy. For some that is a forgotten thing and it shows in their life. I was ignoble, a nobody, born to nobodies who didn’t have much. Toxic waste was in the soul of my ancestry and that is where I came from. Insecurity ruled me along with other major character flaws. I was empty, afraid and yet sought after by a merciful God. I was a nobody from nowhere with nothing to offer a holy God when He saved me. What else can I do but be a living sacrifice. Plus, the benefits are great!

December 8

I am “richly blessed” because I have called on the name of the Lord! That is my position – richly blessed! Thank God I am grafted in! Thank God I inherited such a great inheritance!

“Consider the sternness and kindness of God.” I will! God is so good to me! Do you know how many times I “fell” away from Him in my life? Plenty! Whether it was a “religious” departure, (meaning that I remained religious but cold in my heart towards God – doing works with no relationship) or a sinful departure for a season, from the time I was saved it has happened more than a couple of times. Yet God has been so gracious to me and brought me back by His kindness. His sternness towards me because of my unbelief has been felt, but He always graces me with revelation that draws me toward belief and therefore His kindness is activated. How good is God!!!! You are so great Lord! You are the kindest – bestest of all! Love you!

December 7

Faith comes apart from doing! I don’t have to do to get anything from God, I have to be! This is a tough concept, but if we do out of “being” then we are in faith and have everything, but if we try to get the promises from God because of how we act, then it isn’t faith and I won’t receive anything! So what in the world is wrong with me that I continue to work so hard? I don’t do it to attain anything, I do it because it is expected. I still haven’t figured out who expects it except for me and satan. Doing clouds my faith! Oh God help me “be” in you and never try to attain anything by my effort. I want everything you have for me Lord! I have it! I call it forth in my life!

December 6

Romans 1:11-12 (NIV)
11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong—
12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

It occurs to me that there is a reason to get together and this is it. There isn’t a time that I talk to Pastor Dave and don’t go away from a conversation not being challenged or having something taught to me. I want to be that kind of man. I want to impart things to people, both spiritually and knowledge. That means I have to do it on purpose! The other thing is that when we get together, we are mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. That has some assumptions in there, but the point to me is that I am an encouragement. When I get together with Pastor Jerry, he always encourages me. I walk away with more than I came with. Isn’t that how I should be? I want to be these things Lord. Bring me to that place, increase my influence, delight in me God and give this ability more and more!

December 5

“The authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.”

It is obvious that something was going down in that church. It was an interesting read today. The point that I heard loudly was that my authority at the church, in my family, in my life was meant for building up and not tearing down. Things sometimes need to be corrected, however it all must be done for building up! People need to go away having the high probability of thinking that I was building them up. You can’t help it if some people take things wrong, but you can help people to take it right by having the right attitude, having love and by communicating concern for their soul. In the end, I have authority, and I am supposed to use it. I MUST use my authority to ensure the building up of the church, my family and my own life.

December 4

A funny thing stood out to me. Paul changed his mind about traveling to Corinth. He made a plan and then changed it. God really encouraged me that if the great apostle can change plans, so can I. It really brought a freedom to me. I can choose and if I see that it is not the plan of God, and can choose God and be o.k. with it. Freedom!

Paul talks a couple of times about “not” losing heart and also being on the brink of death, in fact it sounds like he wanted to die, however what pushed him on was NOT his own life, it was the life of Christ in him and the life of Christ in others. His ministry was such a focal point of his life, that thinking about what God was doing through him was what kept him going! My life must not be lived for me. That is a trap! It depresses me. I am convinced that this is the reason so many youth have lost heart, they have no greater purpose than themselves. When I focus on my life as it relates to me, I will lose heart. So Lord, I focus on you, I focus on others, I focus on my life as it relates to you and to others. After all, isn’t my life hid in you? Maybe my stress comes from the times that I “un”-hide myself and look at everything instead of looking at you. Makes sense…

I saw the definition of rich in chapter 9 – having enough to be generous with others.

December 3

If there is no resurrection, then we should party and we are to be pieties more than other men. Paul makes his case about the resurrection to those who either don’t believe or have some real doubts of the possibility of being resurrected. His point is that without the resurrection of Jesus – this is a bad fairy tale that has caused him some real grief for nothing. Extrapolated to us who do believe what does this mean? This life is NOT what Christianity is primarily about! The more the devil can convince us that this life is what Christ died for (which He did die for our abundant living), the less we will be most concerned with advancing the Kingdom of God and bringing people to salvation. We will fall into the trap of helping people improve in this life as our focus, and our focus, my focus, must be on bringing people to salvation and then maturity! I will only live another 40 years or so, but I will be alive for eternity (I can’t conceive of that – so put the number at 1000 so I can wrap my mind around that for comparison’s sake). Do I want to live for the next 40 years as its own purpose, or live for the next 40 years for the next 1000 years? That is an easy answer. It is all about focus.

Oh God, don’t let me focus too much on this life. I want to be focused on the next life and this life will be lived with that focus! I want to bring people to salvation, give me opportunity Lord.

December 2

I think sometimes people including myself give excuses instead of truth. In chapter 13 and verse 7 it says love always, always, always, always. I love you but..., or I love them but I don’t trust them or I don’t think they can or..., is NOT love. Do you get what I mean? Either I have got to always, always, always, always, or I am not walking in love. There is no in-between, either I am loving and because of that protecting, trusting, hoping, persevering, or I am letting others be hurt (by myself or others), doubting, expecting nothing and losing patience or giving up on people. When I became a man, my love was like a man’s love, mature and I left the childishness of selfish interest, selfish ambition and the like. So I am hit between the eyes that I have not left all my childish ways – BUT I want too! God help me to love like a mature man – because I am one – and want to be more like one! Help me Papa! Reprove me and show me your way of love.

December 1

Today’s reading was a long one. There is so much there and I thank God for this book! The thing that stuck out to me was a recurring theme that ran throughout chapters 5-7 and really the whole book. Clearly we are not our own. Clearly we are to sacrifice ourselves for our brothers and for Christ. How? Verse 7 of chapter 5 tells us:

“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast—as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed…”

This is an incredible instruction to me. It capsulates, in the middle of talking about someone who is have sex with his step-mother and what to do with him, God’s thinking about our born again state. I am supposed to get rid of the old yeast (works of the law, works of the flesh-worldliness) so I CAN be a new batch of bread without yeast (yeast representing sin). So I have to get rid of the stuff (yeast) that is messing me up and making my flesh (sin nature) rise. However the next half of the verse tells me that I AM ALREADY A NEW BATCH! God has already created me new! Not only does that tell me that I don’t ‘have to’ sin, it tells me that I am not created to sin – it is AGAINST my nature! Get that in me Papa! I am able to get rid of the old yeast BECAUSE Christ has been sacrificed and because I have accepted HIS life (and death) and become NEW. It is my nature to get rid of the old yeast – that is what I do! When I start thinking like this, it becomes a whole lot easier than the thinking; “I am just so caught in my past – or – I have always been like that”. I am a NEW MAN!