Archive for November, 2009

It’s Monday. And much more than usual.

Posted on: by Zachariah 1 Comment

I see you thinking there inside that thoughtful head of yours… how can a Monday be more of a Monday than any other Monday? Well, following the line of thought of the famous cartoonist Jim Davis, I believe Mondays are truly one of the most, if not the most difficult day of the week. Today was no exception. Life was sprawled about as chaotically as my dorm room as I rushed from place to place, nearly missed meetings, sat through classes I would have rather not been at, crammed for a job audition tomorrow, and found out about the normal glum and humdrum around me.

But, as soon as Monday is not Monday (as in, it’s Tuesday…) I will be celebrating the end of No Shave November with a haircut… and probably a little shave while I’m at it. So, that improves my day, having something to hope for.

Another thing I had to hope for today was time to just be quiet, settle down, and focus on God. This was an especially packed Monday, with extra blips in my schedule, and I was wondering when it would all wind down. Turns out, this would be nighttime, when everything winds down anyway. So, now that I have unpacked for the day, I have the time/energy to devote to this, studying the Bible and reacting to it.

Today’s Old Testament bite comes from Daniel 7. This chapter happens to be a vision of future events. I’m not sure I can accurately pinpoint much of the meaning of the symbolism, but I can say that repeatedly it is declared that the Kingdom of God (Daniel 7:14, Daniel 7:27) will last forever, and that when the day of judgment does come, God will destroy the power of the world leaders that oppress His holy people. So despite however much God will be defied and sacred practices will be denied in the end times, it works out in the end. An eternal kingdom given to His followers that reigns forever. I’m glad God likes happy endings too.

My scheduled New Testament reading today is the first ten verses of the first epistle of John. In 1 John 1:4, John is very open with his purpose for writing to whomever he was writing to: “We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.” Other translations say “so that our joy may be complete” or “so that your joy may be complete.” What a fantastic reason, as if we needed more of them, to evangelize and share our faith: the growing and spreading of Joy. Of all the Fruit of the Spirit, Joy has a special place in my priority list, because of the absolute power it has to energize and transform situations and lives. Also examine for yourself 1 John 1:6, reading “So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth.” The three key verbs here are all active states of doing: are lying, go on living, and not practicing. I would venture a guess that they can be applied to us as well, in our journeys to discover and live an active state of Christ-following. I hope that I can encourage you to be active in seeking out your spiritual darkness and replacing it with light, for according to 1 John 1:5, God is light. Involving him in your life will light it up. Maybe even to the brightness of a million stars (see yesterday’s post upon deciding that this sentence confuses you).

Daily Psalms reading is Psalm 119:153-176, the sections labeled Resh (ר), Shin (ש), and Taw (ת). I actually (and I try not to do this much) would recommend this for a read through, if not a thorough skimming. This passage is about how great the law of the Lord is, and how following these commands is a step towards allowing God to intervene in your life (the favorite word in the passage is “rescue.” For example, Psalm 119:162 states “I rejoice in your word like one who discovers a great treasure,” and Psalm 119:166 says “I long for your rescue, Lord, so I have obeyed your commands.” And on top of all this great law and following of it, there is an extra theme interwoven, involving praise. It says “I will praise you seven times a day…” in Psalm 119:164. I don’t even have to finish that verse for it to be a shocker to some people. Seven times a day? Can we look back and say, “Yeah, I praised God seven times today,” or even “Yeah, I praised God enough today.” In case you were wondering, the answers are probably not and definitely not. Even the Psalmist still begs the Lord to let praise flow from his lips (Psalm 119:171) and let him live so that he could praise God (Psalm 119:175).

May you be encouraged and blessed, and inspired to action in your life and in the world around you, despite what roadblocks your circumstances may bring. Including the roadblock of Mondays.

-Zachariah

A Burning Desire to Be Something Different… to Be the Difference

Posted on: by Zachariah 1 Comment

First and first, this is an apology. I haven’t been on here in a couple months. I haven’t been ignoring the Bible or God during that time… that would be ridiculous. However, I have been more than lackadaisical about being intentional with my spiritual disciplines, and that includes daily quiet time and scripture readings. I let the world get my time, when I should be letting God get at the world through my time. So, today, it gets different. Real different. Starting here. This blog will be done daily, as a motivator for me to read my Bible daily with the most prime of my time. To help this goal along, this blog is going more public than normal: it is now attached to my facebook account. Which means a) you the reader will more easily know if I have posted yet each day, and can encourage me to do so if I am falling behind on a certain day, (Such as Monday. Something about my schedule on Mondays just destroys my down time.) and b) if I am on facebook before/instead of doing this blog post, I’ll see my posts in my feed and it will remind me to Bible and blog instead. I also intend to start working on (would that be retroblogging?) some of the days I missed, not because I can jump back in time and tell you everything I did with my Bible those days, but so I can catch what I missed in my scheduled devotions and maybe encourage you with it as well.

Secondly, this is also today’s devotional post, entitled “A Burning Desire to Be Something Different… to Be the Difference.” A song that I have listened to far too often during my hiatus from this blog is “Desire” by Phil Wickham. The chorus lyrics state “My desire is burning like a million stars… and I’ll keep reaching out, reaching out for You!” I’ve often wondered what a desire like this would be. I’ve thirsted for God before, but in a way that burns like a million stars? And that burning would not just be a glow inside, but a more brilliant light than humankind has ever seen. A million stars. And, the thought doesn’t end there. With that passion, how far would we reach out for God? How much would we throw everything else to the side to run after God?

Following the ideas of the title takes us next to being something different and being the difference. The more and more I observe the world, the more I’m terrified of it. Or, more accurately, I’m terrified of becoming of it. My desire is to be in the world, not of the world. There are stereotypes of the American Christian male that I want to shake, because first and foremost I will be a Christ-follower who strives hard for the life we are Biblically called to, a life which will and does make a difference. I hope that reading this got you thinking, so maybe I made a difference in your life today. But, beyond the comforts of our pews and steeples, how can we make differences in the lives around us who are not on the inside looking out, but instead are on the outside looking in, if they are looking at all for a god in their lives?

A few nearly rhetorical questions later, here is the meat and potatoes of today’s post, based on the one and only unchanging Holy Bible. I’ll put it out there right now that I read my daily devotions from the New Living Translation. This isn’t my favorite translation, but it is a well organized devotional Bible. Today’s Old Testament passage comes from the book of Daniel, chapter 6. As you may have hoped for by the title of the Book, this is indeed the story of Daniel and the Lions’ Den. In summary, Daniel refuses to stop praying, violates a temporary Persian law, and is punished by being thrown into the den of lions, which he survived because of the miraculous protection of God. Even though I’ve heard this story before, what stuck out this time was that Daniel did not give up praying multiple times a day to God, even when his life was at stake. My life, and probably yours too, is not at stake right now, so why is it so hard to be intentional about praying multiple times a day? This addresses another discipline worth developing, but not worth blogging the details of.

The New Testament passage today is in 2 Peter 3. It describes the end times in a way that sounds an awful lot like… right now. People mocking truth and following their own desires? (2 Peter 3:3) Check. People deliberately ignoring and forgetting creation, substituting in something like… Naturalism? (2 Peter 3:5) Check. So what are we to do? While waiting for judgment, we are to “make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight” (2 Peter 3:14) and “be on guard so that [we] will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose [our] own footing. {18} Rather, [we] must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:17-18, pronouns adjusted). Live pure lives, don’t be tripped up by the evil around you, and keep growing. That is so good, I could say we all should do that. In fact, I will. That’s today’s challenge, from God, through some various people, to us.

The Psalms reading today is 119:129-152, or the Pe, Tsadhe, and Qoph sections of the acrostic poem contained in Psalms 119. This section is entirely about how great the laws of the Lord are. However, it is not a line about the law that struck me, it is a line about promise that stood out. Psalm 119:140 says “Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much” Think on how much His promises have been tested, and how much you can love God and his promises for you.

I leave you with a parting word from Nehemiah I came across today. Nehemiah and his fellow Jews are struggling with opposition to what the Lord has told them to do. Nehemiah 6:9 (GNB) says “They were trying to frighten us into stopping work. I prayed, ‘But now, God, make me strong!’” May you also pray for strength if you ever are facing pressure around you to not do what God has commanded you.

Blessings,

Zachariah