a new year... a new spiritual discipline...

The pastor challenged us this morning...
this first day of the year in worship...
to begin a new discipline...
to draw closer to God...

Already... before the pastor challenged...
God had called me... to something new...
(maybe not new to you... but new to me...)
a spiritual discipline inspired by a chosen devotional for the year...

A Charles Spurgeon devotional... an updated edition...
Look Unto Me... The Devotions of Charles Spurgeon...

Early this morning... in the original preface... I read...

If you do not have time to read both the morning devotional and at least one chapter of Scripture, I earnestly entreat you to dispense with this book, for I would be greatly grieved to know that anyone read the Word of God less on my account.

---Charles Spurgeon, December 1865

As I read the words... at least one chapter of Scripture...
the thought came to mind...
This year... read through the gospels... a chapter a day...

My new spiritual discipline... to draw closer to Him...
will take me through Matthew... Mark... Luke... John...
four times this year... if I keep the pace of one chapter a day...
(yes... I did the math...)

An idea I've thought of before... but never committed to...
never felt called to... till now...

The gospels tell Jesus's story...
at least the part He lived on earth...
as God-man... as Word made flesh... as Lamb of God...
the place where we live now...
facing the same temptations...
the same challenges He did...

The author of Hebrews tells us to consider Him...
so we do not lose heart...

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself,

so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Hebrews 12:3 ESV

So this year... I will spend more time...
considering Him who endured...
and looking to Him... who perfects our faith...

...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy

that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,

and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

Ask Him what He wants you to do this year...

to draw closer to Him... to look to Him...

and see Him better...

Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth;

for I am God, and there is none else.

Isaiah 45:22 KJV

The Journey Readings: Week 142... and gospel basics...

Romans... the book of gospel basics...

The Roman church was not founded by Paul...
he desperately wanted to visit...
but the time had not yet come...

Since he couldn't visit... he wrote a letter...
and I believe we see in this letter...
what Paul taught... regarding the gospel...
at every church he ever founded...

Because he didn't establish this church...
and couldn't visit them personally...
he wrote a detailed letter of gospel basics...
speaking to both Jews and Gentiles... who made up this congregation...

It's a book worth spending some time in...
Paul teaches on the power of the law... vs the power of the Spirit...
God's work in sending Jesus to fulfill the law... made the way for righteousness...
something we were wholly unable to do...

Paul teaches about the faith required to be saved...
it's not about the flesh... your birth lineage...
but about your faith... your spiritual lineage...
it's about God's grace... mercy...

In Christ we are set free from the law of sin and death...
to live by the law of the Spirit of life...
and Paul provides ample instruction for what that looks like...

But the fuel that is to fire us up is the Holy Spirit...
and the verse which caught my attention this week...
reading in the Amplified... is found in chapter 12...

Never lag in zeal and earnest endeavor;

be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.

Romans 12:11 Amp

Because we are free from the law... we no longer have a check list to follow... making sure we are walking the straight and narrow...

Instead... we have His Holy Spirit living in us... to direct us and guide us... a little trickier than a list of do's and don't's... but that is what we're called to do in Christ Jesus... follow Him...

And to do this we need to keep the Spirit burning in us... and serving the Lord...

My prayer for myself this week... 

Father God... keep me aglow and burning with the Spirit...

that I may serve my Lord Jesus wholeheartedly...

and with zeal...

Make it your prayer too...

This week's readings...

Monday            Romans 14:1 - 15:13

Tuesday            Romans 15:14 - 16:27

Wednesday       Ephesians 1

Thursday           Ephesians 2-3

Friday               Ephesians 4

beautiful feet...

The study with ladies completed today... the one started several weeks ago... a spin off of posts first published here... the going deeper into Romans 8...

In preparation for this study... He brought a verse to my attention...

How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!

Romans 10:15 ESV

I came across it in several places... and it echoed through my mind as I prepared...

Knowing the title of the study... Romans 8: The Heart of the Gospel... I considered my feet...

At the time... the only word to describe my feet...? Ugly...

My left big toenail missed a large chunk from a recent run in with a cabinet door... both second toenails black... bruised... from an unfortunate purchase of a pair of walking shoes...

Both big toes sported large callouses... then an infection from trying to remove them in a not so great way (I'll spare you the details)... I finished the course of antibiotics a week before the start of  the study... my feet were in bad shape...

With this verse running through my mind... I wasn't feeling very confident about bringing the gospel message to my table with such ugly feet... but by faith... I did...

Around week three of the seven weeks of study... the verse returned to my thoughts... beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news...

Oddly enough... I was moved to buy nail polish... this is NOT something I do... I've never really been into the nail polish thing... it's just too much trouble... I'm too pragmatic... I can't even remember EVER painting my toenails...

But there I was... standing in Wal-Mart... looking for the perfect shade of polish... one that would coordinate with both pink and red... I brought it home and set it on my bathroom counter as a reminder... beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news...

After the callous fiasco... I had bought a pumice stone for my feet... also something I don't do... About week four of the study I took a look at my feet... they were actually looking pretty good... better than they had in a long time... A friend even commented on them... I'm not one to really consider my feet much... if they don't hurt and I'm happy with my shoes... it's all good..

But contrary to me... I began to wonder... anticipate... what my feet would look like at the end of the study... Anticipation of busting open the nail polish even took hold... beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news...

So today... the final lesson... and I just have to laugh... because He does such interesting things at times...

Sometimes He brings about a physical manifestation... of a spiritual reality... to provide encouragement...

He knew my heart was unsure of what I was doing...
He knew I was taking steps of faith...
allowing Him to stretch me to new lengths...
He knew I would see... and laugh with Him...

Beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news...

So yes... these are my feet... not perfect... but far better than they usually look...

And for me... a confirmation... that it was Him along the way...
Him leading...
Him guiding...
Him providing strength... time... energy...

And no... your feet do not have to be beautiful to bring the gospel message...

His feet... nail scarred... stained with blood...

To follow Christ... is to bring good news wherever we go...
and that makes our feet beautiful...

Our feet take us all sorts of places... and when they are shod with the gospel of peace... they bring His grace... love... peace... and hope... wherever we go...

But He does make me smile... with encouragement... affirmation... through the physical manifestation of a spiritual reality...

Thank You... Lord... for the beautiful feet...

Thank You... for blessing me with the opportunity...

to make them beautiful for You...

The Journey Readings: Week 56... and conflict...

The effective spreading of the Gospel... the good news grace... seems to always stir up conflict...

In Philippi... Paul freed an annoying slave girl from a spirit of divination... she became useless to her owners... no longer able to tell the future...

Conflict arose... resulting in Paul and his companion receiving a beating... and imprisonment... (Acts 16:16-24)

When released... Paul and those with him had to leave Philippi...

They went to Thessalonica...  where Paul preached until the unbelieving Jews became jealous... stirred up a crowd and hunted him down...

Not finding thim... Paul's host was arrested...

Paul and his friends left town under the cover of darkness... (Acts 17:1-10)

In Beroea... Paul successfully influenced many in the synagogue... who tested his words against Scripture... and believed...

But when those unbelievers in Thessalonica heard about it... they came to cause trouble for Paul...

Some Believers escorted Paul out of town... all the way to Athens... (Acts 17:10-15)

In Corinth... Paul's preaching again stirred up some to belief... and some to outrage...

Those outraged united to attack Paul... and haul him into court...

But when the proconsul discovered it was a religious matter... he refused to hear the case... (Acts 18:12-17)

In Ephesus... Paul's preaching was so effective... Demetrius the silversmith and maker of idols... felt his business threatened and stirred up a riot...

It was so volatile... Paul's friends refused to let him enter to speak to those opposed to the Gospel...

After the uproar died down... brought to an end by the town clerk... Paul encouraged the disciples... and left town... again... (Acts 19:23-41)

Spreading of the Gospel... stirs up conflict...

These men who have turned the world upside down...

Acts 17:6 Amp

Affirmation that we live in a world at war... two kingdoms clashing... His... and the enemies...

His ways are not the world's ways... and when His Kingdom comes to those entrenched in the world's way... it feels... as if the world is being turned... upside down...

Have you had your own personal conflict with Him...? has He turned your world upside down...?

Or have you turned someone else's world upside down...? by sharing the good news grace...?

It's inevitable... when the Gospel is preached... effectively...

"If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own;

but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you. ..." ---Jesus

John 15:18-19 ESV

Find out more... about His upside down ways... join The Journey...

This week's readings...
Monday             Acts 21:1-36
Tuesday            Acts 21:37 - 23:11
Wednesday       Acts 23:12 - 24:27
Thursday          Acts 25:1 - 26:11
Friday               Acts 26:12 - 27:38

significant...

Yes... three days... 72 hours... is a significant amount of time... a lot can transpire... in three days...

Abraham... on his journey to the mountains of Moriah... the place God called him to sacrifice Isaac... his only son... the son of promise... had three days to think... three days to wonder... reason... consider... his act of obedience...

He considered that God was able 

even to raise [Isaac] from the dead...

Hebrews 11:19 ESV

These days of preparation... consideration... secret time in God's presence on the journey... brought him to the place where he could say to the servants traveling with them...

"Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."

Genesis 22:5 NIV

(my emphasis)

...and to his son... who saw the wood and fire... but no lamb... 

"God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering..."

Genesis 22:8 NIV

(emphasis mine)

Jonah... (not Noah)... blessed with three days of seclusion inside a great fish... three days where only God knew where he was... only God could hear... 

Jonah had time to be...

Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God 

from the belly of the fish, saying, 

"I called out to the Lord, out of my distress, 

and he answered me; 

out of the belly of Sheol I cried, 

and you heard my voice. 

... 

Those who pay regard to vain idols 

forsake their hope of steadfast love. 

But I with the voice of thanksgiving 

will sacrifice to you; what I vowed I will pay. 

Salvation belongs to the Lord!"

Jonah 2:1-9 ESV

Time to reconsider... repent... 

And the Lord spoke to the fish,and it vomited Jonah out upon dry land. Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, "Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you." So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord.

Jonah 2:10-3:3 ESV

Jesus... three days buried... after declaring...

"It is finished."

John 19:20 ESV

Three days... known only to the Father... in which He began the process of redemption... the good news still hidden in the earth...

For Christ died for sins once for all, 

the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.

He was put to death in the body 

but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also

he went and preached to the spirits in prison, 

who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently

in the days of Noah while the ark was being built

1 Peter 3:18-20

(emphasis mine)

After three days... He is risen... good news unwrapped... 

the power of the revelation continues to this day...

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

Romans 6:4 ESV

Three days... a significant time for retreating...

a journey... to consider... all the possibilities...

secluded... to receive revelation... and a need for repentance...

a re-membering... of the resurrection... and newness of life...

A lot can transpire in three days... I expect it will take longer to process what has been worked in... but what I do know...

He must increase,

but I must decrease.

John 3:30 ESV

Thank You Lord... for three days... 72 hours... to retreat...

[Note... Yes... there was a significant error on the post... retreating... Noah was NOT in the great fish... Jonah was... it has been corrected... goes to show how much I needed to retreat... thank God for His grace...]

advent... fourth sunday...

Three days till Christmas... and the word for Advent's fourth Sunday...

Peace

Depending on your organizational skills... and your level of expectation... peace... may be the last thing you are feeling... and seem like an impossibility... 

Yet... that's why He came... to make the way for... peace... 

For everyone has sinned; 

we all fall short of God's glorious standard.

Romans 3:23 NLT

To fall short... of God's glorious standard... makes us God's enemies... there is no peace... between enemies...

en-e-my... noun... one that is antagonistic to another especially: one seeking to injure, overthrow, or confound an opponent

--- Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th Edition)

Yet God, with undeserved kindness, 

declares that we are righteous. 

He did this through Christ Jesus 

when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 

For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. 

People are made right with God when they believe

that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. 

This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back 

and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 

for he was looking ahead and including them 

in what he would do in this present time. 

God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, 

for he himself is fair and just,

and he declares sinners to be right in his sight 

when they believe in Jesus.

Romans 3:24-26 NLT

This is the Good News... the Gospel...

Think about the best news you could receive...

healing... of disease...

reconciliation... of relationship...

acceptance... of an application...

resurrection... of life...

What would be your first response...? if what you most desired... was delivered... as good news...?

Mine... joy... immediately followed by... peace...

Bad news... destroys peace... 

Good news... restores peace...

The arrival of the Babe in the manger... here is where the Good News of Christ begins... prepares the Way for...

healing...

reconciliation...

acceptance...

resurrection...

PEACE...

For in [the Son] all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

and through him to reconcile to himself all things,

whether on earth or in heaven,

making peace by the blood of his cross.

Colossians 1:19-20 ESV

Receive the Good News of the Babe... 

Who grew to be the Lamb...

Who came... to take away the sins of the world...

to make the Way... for peace...

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!

...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,

present your requests to God.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4, 5

Go now... to the altar of the manger... 

Rejoice... at the Good News He brings...

Lay down... your anxieties... expectations...

Rest... in His work... and in His strength...

Present your requests... with thanksgiving... 

And receive... His peace... which transcends understanding...

active gospel...

In our exploration... into the maintenance... and strengthening... of the armor God supplies Believers... we come to the third piece... that enables us to stand firm... against the unseen enemy...

Shoes of gospel peace...

And having shod your feet in preparation [to face the enemy with the firm-footed stability, the promptness, and the readiness produced by the good news] of the Gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:15 Amp

We stand firm-footed... against the enemy... when we stand on the gospel of peace...

Our shoes... when we stand... separate us... from the world... the literal earth beneath our feet... protecting us from heat... cold... thorn... or stone...

In addition... the shoes worn for battle by the Roman army... ensured... a firm footing... and readiness...

With your feet fitted probably referred to caligae... tough but light sandals (in the sense that the toes were open) that went partly up the leg, with soles studded with nails for a secure grip on the ground. Soldiers could wear them in hand-to-hand combat, rather than the heavy boots used in long marches. The purpose could be twofold: to maintain a solid footing, as commanded, and to be ready for action.

---The IVP New Testament Commentary Series: Ephesians 

 The Believer's shoes of gospel peace... they too... are studded with nails...

...he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

The Gospel peace... on which we stand firm... is the good news... of the cross...

How well do you know it...?

The firmness of our stance... and the peace of our heart... spirit... rests in a full acceptance... belief... trust... in Jesus's work on the cross...

Do you fully accept it for yourself...?
Are you convinced... to the point... of absolute peace...?

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation...

Colossians 1:19-22

Knowledge... experiential and personal... enables us to stand firm... knowing we are right... before the Creator and Keeper of the universe...

This knowledge... it also readies us... compels us... to share it with others... taking it wherever He calls us to... with peace... and assurance...

...with your feet fitted with the readiness

that come from the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:15

Do you know the Gospel well enough to share it with others...?
Can you verbalize it...? Invite others to it....?

Knowledge of the Gospel of peace... protects our feet from the thorns of worry... whether we are good enough to share the Message... and keeps us from stumbling over rocks of doubt... whether we have the right words... to share the Message...

Read... study... eat... Matthew... Mark... Luke... John... let them teach you... the good news... the news that brings peace... the news that steadies.. and readies... the news that makes your feet beautiful...

How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace

who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation,

who say to Zion,

"Your God reigns!"

Isaiah 52:7

Shod your feet with beauty... and go out with the Message... of the good news...

Scripture tells us... the harvest is ready... and plentiful... but the workers are few...

Let Him... the Lord of the Harvest... prepare you for His work...

People are ready... if you are willing...

Father God... raise up... send out... more workers... into Your fields ripe for harvest... equip me... with words... faith... boldness... and peace... activate... the Gospel... in me...

Related fare...

active duty...

active truth...

active righteousness...