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Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
The LORD has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst;
You shall see disaster no more.
In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“ Do not fear;
Zion, let not your hands be weak.
The LORD your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
“ I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
At that time I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says the LORD. -- Zephaniah 3:14-20
Something amazing happens in this passage of Scripture: “The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” So often we rejoice over what the LORD has done for us, that we do not realize that He rejoices over us.
We forget that our sins grieve God, that He endured horrific torture and death in order to secure our salvation, so when we are restored He rejoices, which in turn should bring joy to our lives.
The God who created everything rejoices over us when we are restored to righteousness. We can see the joy of God in the story of the prodigal son. The father is so joyful the son has returned that he restores everything to the son. So it is with God--when we return He rejoices and restores everything to us, which should bring us joy.
As we continue this Advent journey together, let us never forget the joy we have in being restored to God and the joy He has in restoring us.
The following are examples from God’s Word in which we are given reasons to rejoice or in which God rejoices because of us. Read each day’s example, and let the hope that God brings and the love He pours out on us to bring us eternal joy.
Monday - 1 Peter 1:6-9
Tuesday - Psalm 5:11-12
Wednesday - Luke 2:9-11
Thursday - Jeremiah 33:8-9
Friday - Luke 15:8-10
Saturday - Isaiah 9:2-3
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Advent - Week 2 : Love
“Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
“ But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness.
“ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be pleasant to the LORD,
As in the days of old,
As in former years. -- Malachi 3:1-4
What a strange way to start a week of focusing on God’s love. This is a message from the prophet Malachi on what it will be like when Messiah comes. It does not sound very enjoyable. He will come and purify so that we can offer an acceptable offering of righteousness to the LORD.
The process of purification is not always an enjoyable one. It involves removing things in our lives that separate us from God. Some of those things we may not want to admit we struggle with, or we like the sin in our lives and do not want to be purified of it.
But when the Messiah comes, we will be purified. We will be able to make the offering of righteousness that the LORD desires, and this will all be accomplished because of the love of God, a God who is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b) is willing to send His Son to purify us so that we can be in relationship with Him.
As we continue this Advent journey together, let us remember that everything we have or ever will have comes from the hand of a loving God.
The following are examples of God’s love for us from God’s Word. Read each day’s example and take time to meditate on it and thank God for the love He bestows upon you.
Monday - Romans 5:6-11
Tuesday - Deuteronomy 7:11-13
Wednesday - John 3:16-17
Thursday - Psalm 42:5-8
Friday - 1 John 4:9-12
Saturday - Psalm 136
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming,”
Says the LORD of hosts.
“ But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may offer to the LORD
An offering in righteousness.
“ Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem
Will be pleasant to the LORD,
As in the days of old,
As in former years. -- Malachi 3:1-4
What a strange way to start a week of focusing on God’s love. This is a message from the prophet Malachi on what it will be like when Messiah comes. It does not sound very enjoyable. He will come and purify so that we can offer an acceptable offering of righteousness to the LORD.
The process of purification is not always an enjoyable one. It involves removing things in our lives that separate us from God. Some of those things we may not want to admit we struggle with, or we like the sin in our lives and do not want to be purified of it.
But when the Messiah comes, we will be purified. We will be able to make the offering of righteousness that the LORD desires, and this will all be accomplished because of the love of God, a God who is “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9b) is willing to send His Son to purify us so that we can be in relationship with Him.
As we continue this Advent journey together, let us remember that everything we have or ever will have comes from the hand of a loving God.
The following are examples of God’s love for us from God’s Word. Read each day’s example and take time to meditate on it and thank God for the love He bestows upon you.
Monday - Romans 5:6-11
Tuesday - Deuteronomy 7:11-13
Wednesday - John 3:16-17
Thursday - Psalm 42:5-8
Friday - 1 John 4:9-12
Saturday - Psalm 136
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Advent - Week 1 : Hope
‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the LORD, ‘that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah:
‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. -- Jeremiah 33:14-16
A good definition of “hope” is to look forward to something with desire and have a reasonable confidence that it will happen.
The hope we have is something that the world does not understand. Where the world sees only death, poverty, war and disease, we can see the promise of God. We know that one day He will return and restore all things.
As Christians we know that what God has promised He will fulfill. We have God’s Word that states “that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.” The Bible is filled with promises that God has fulfilled, and this one is no different. It has not been fulfilled yet, but we have the desire and reasonable confidence that it will happen. We have the hope of God’s promise, the promise that we will live and reign with Him forever, that all things will be restored, that there will be no sickness or death, and the entire world will be at peace.
As we travel this Advent journey together, let us remember that our hope is based on nothing less than the Word of God.
The following are promises of our hope from God’s Word. Read each day’s promise and take time to meditate on it, thanking God for the hope you have in Him.
Monday - Isaiah 2:1-5
Tuesday - Matthew 24:36-44
Wednesday - Micah 4:1-4
Thursday - James 5:7-10
Friday - Isaiah 35:1-10
Saturday - 1 John 5:1-12
‘In those days and at that time
I will cause to grow up to David
A Branch of righteousness;
He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.
In those days Judah will be saved,
And Jerusalem will dwell safely.
And this is the name by which she will be called:
THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. -- Jeremiah 33:14-16
A good definition of “hope” is to look forward to something with desire and have a reasonable confidence that it will happen.
The hope we have is something that the world does not understand. Where the world sees only death, poverty, war and disease, we can see the promise of God. We know that one day He will return and restore all things.
As Christians we know that what God has promised He will fulfill. We have God’s Word that states “that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.” The Bible is filled with promises that God has fulfilled, and this one is no different. It has not been fulfilled yet, but we have the desire and reasonable confidence that it will happen. We have the hope of God’s promise, the promise that we will live and reign with Him forever, that all things will be restored, that there will be no sickness or death, and the entire world will be at peace.
As we travel this Advent journey together, let us remember that our hope is based on nothing less than the Word of God.
The following are promises of our hope from God’s Word. Read each day’s promise and take time to meditate on it, thanking God for the hope you have in Him.
Monday - Isaiah 2:1-5
Tuesday - Matthew 24:36-44
Wednesday - Micah 4:1-4
Thursday - James 5:7-10
Friday - Isaiah 35:1-10
Saturday - 1 John 5:1-12
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sorry
I wish to apologize for my lack of posting. I've been distracted by several events in my life.
1) I'm engaged
2) Started planning a wedding
3) Looking for a job
I had a job interview on Friday. I think it was a good one, please pray that if it's the right fit God would open the door for me.
Hopefully I will start posting again soon.
Josh
1) I'm engaged
2) Started planning a wedding
3) Looking for a job
I had a job interview on Friday. I think it was a good one, please pray that if it's the right fit God would open the door for me.
Hopefully I will start posting again soon.
Josh
Monday, September 14, 2009
Play
Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis may notice a constant theme of balance in life. I spend quite a bit of time thinking about how to live a balanced and healthy life, asking myself questions like: What things in life are important? Is this a good activity? Am I getting enough rest, nutrition and exercise? This list could go on, but these few examples should give you the gist of what my thoughts often are and why I often blog on the subject.
Last month night I attended my first “Port and Pipe” night with some friends from college. They smoke pipes, drink port and attempt to play poker (for fun, not for money). The point is to have fun, socialize and play.
I have another group of friends that typically gets together once a week to play board and card games. Sometimes we do dinner, while other times we get together to celebrate holidays, birthdays and other life events. However, the main purpose of our gatherings is to relax, have fun and play.
I’ve been wondering the past few weeks if we play enough. We fill our lives with so many different things: church, work, school, weddings, funerals, and volunteering, to name a few. But do we include play in our list of things to do? In living a balanced life we try to include down time, alone time, resting time, but do we include playtime?
According to Dictionary.com, the verb “play” means “to exercise or employ oneself in diversion, amusement, or recreation.”
I’ll often joke that kindergarten was the best grade in school. When I went, it was for a half day. We would get to class, work on a project, have recess, listen to a story, do a craft, take a nap, do another project and go home. What could not have been great about that? We would play, relax, socialize and have a bit of learning all going on in the space of a few hours. I wonder if society needs to take another look at how kindergarten is structured and rethink some things.
As a society we seem to fill our lives with so many concerns, activities and responsibilities. Is it any wonder that we live stress-filled lives? The news constantly bombards us with reports on “Cheney: Obama Setting A 'Terrible Precedent',” “Severe H1N1 Warning” “Fired for Refusing Sex?” “Florida Man's Body Found Tangled in Bulldozer” and a plethora of other headlines. The human mind body and spirit can only take so much.
We desperately need time to play. We need to distract ourselves with amusement or recreation. As we all strive to live healthier lives I would encourage you to find time in your busy schedules to play.
Last month night I attended my first “Port and Pipe” night with some friends from college. They smoke pipes, drink port and attempt to play poker (for fun, not for money). The point is to have fun, socialize and play.
I have another group of friends that typically gets together once a week to play board and card games. Sometimes we do dinner, while other times we get together to celebrate holidays, birthdays and other life events. However, the main purpose of our gatherings is to relax, have fun and play.
I’ve been wondering the past few weeks if we play enough. We fill our lives with so many different things: church, work, school, weddings, funerals, and volunteering, to name a few. But do we include play in our list of things to do? In living a balanced life we try to include down time, alone time, resting time, but do we include playtime?
According to Dictionary.com, the verb “play” means “to exercise or employ oneself in diversion, amusement, or recreation.”
I’ll often joke that kindergarten was the best grade in school. When I went, it was for a half day. We would get to class, work on a project, have recess, listen to a story, do a craft, take a nap, do another project and go home. What could not have been great about that? We would play, relax, socialize and have a bit of learning all going on in the space of a few hours. I wonder if society needs to take another look at how kindergarten is structured and rethink some things.
As a society we seem to fill our lives with so many concerns, activities and responsibilities. Is it any wonder that we live stress-filled lives? The news constantly bombards us with reports on “Cheney: Obama Setting A 'Terrible Precedent',” “Severe H1N1 Warning” “Fired for Refusing Sex?” “Florida Man's Body Found Tangled in Bulldozer” and a plethora of other headlines. The human mind body and spirit can only take so much.
We desperately need time to play. We need to distract ourselves with amusement or recreation. As we all strive to live healthier lives I would encourage you to find time in your busy schedules to play.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Abraham
“Now the Lord said to Abram, go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you….So Abram went forth as the Lord had spoken to him…” Genesis 12:1-2a; 4a
“By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8
Something new and amazing is going on here. This is not just another man listening to the voice of God, stepping out in faith. This is Abram, the father of faith. The man who would later be renamed Abraham, the father of many nations; the man who would one day offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God. So many great things this man did, and the one thing he is remembered most for in the book of Hebrews is that when God called he went.
What was so special and so amazing about Abram going “forth as the Lord had spoken to him”? In Thomas Cahill’s book The Gift of the Jews we begin to see a picture of what was so special with this one act of faith.
From what we understand of the history of the region Abram came out of there are many things that make this such an extraordinary event. First, God was probably one of many gods Abram worshiped. Abram in all likelihood had no concept of one all sovereign God. And yet, at this strange command Abram goes. Second, Abram was coming out of a land where the status quo was more important than it is today. There really were no ‘dreamers’ or ‘optimists’. In their worldview history moved in cycles, seasons changed, you were born you died and the only reason to offer homage to the gods was to ensure a good harvest, so the cycle would continue. There was no concept of God directing history towards an ultimate goal (as the Christians and the Jews believe).
What was so amazing was that God was calling Abram out of everything he knew and believed: everything familiar, his home, his family, his entire view of the world and how things worked. God was calling Abram to a whole new way of thinking and living. And the most amazing thing is that Abram went. No questions asked, no excuses, he just went.
“By faith, Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8
Something new and amazing is going on here. This is not just another man listening to the voice of God, stepping out in faith. This is Abram, the father of faith. The man who would later be renamed Abraham, the father of many nations; the man who would one day offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to God. So many great things this man did, and the one thing he is remembered most for in the book of Hebrews is that when God called he went.
What was so special and so amazing about Abram going “forth as the Lord had spoken to him”? In Thomas Cahill’s book The Gift of the Jews we begin to see a picture of what was so special with this one act of faith.
From what we understand of the history of the region Abram came out of there are many things that make this such an extraordinary event. First, God was probably one of many gods Abram worshiped. Abram in all likelihood had no concept of one all sovereign God. And yet, at this strange command Abram goes. Second, Abram was coming out of a land where the status quo was more important than it is today. There really were no ‘dreamers’ or ‘optimists’. In their worldview history moved in cycles, seasons changed, you were born you died and the only reason to offer homage to the gods was to ensure a good harvest, so the cycle would continue. There was no concept of God directing history towards an ultimate goal (as the Christians and the Jews believe).
What was so amazing was that God was calling Abram out of everything he knew and believed: everything familiar, his home, his family, his entire view of the world and how things worked. God was calling Abram to a whole new way of thinking and living. And the most amazing thing is that Abram went. No questions asked, no excuses, he just went.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Confessions
The other night I was having a discussion with a friend about the topic of “confession,” specifically the differences between how the Catholic and Protestant churches handle confession. As a note of background, my friend is a Protestant, his wife is Catholic and I am a Protestant but have spent quite a bit of time studying the Catholic church and its practices.
In the Catholic church one goes to “confession.” In essence you go sit in a little booth, confess your sins to the priest, and he dispenses penance if necessary, then absolves you of your sins.
In the Protestant church one is admonished to confess one’s sins to God and if necessary share your “struggles” with a brother or sister in Christ, or your pastor for prayer and support.
These are two very different approaches.
The idea of confession comes from James 5:16: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
Confessing one’s sins is a very hard, personal thing. It is an admittance that one has failed in keeping God’s law. But, I think it does much more. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1455:
“The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.”
I have heard many times throughout my life that someone who has a problem cannot deal with it until that person admits that there is a problem. What strength could one gain if one had the ability to go to someone, confess one’s sins, struggles and concerns and get prayer and support.
I have had people in my life that I have felt comfortable sharing some things with, but not everything. I have been around too many well-meaning Christians who share something that was told them in confidence because “this person needs prayer.” Then it gets around, and finally the person is very hurt (and in some cases leaves the church) because something they thought they were sharing in confidence was not kept in confidence.
Because of this, the past few years I have been considering the idea of how the Catholics handle confession. One goes to a booth anonymously confesses to a priest who has sworn a solemn vow of secrecy, and receives absolution.
While I do believe that only God can forgive sins, I am wondering if there is not some value in this. I know that if I had someplace to go confess, get prayer and know that 1) my confession was secret, and 2) my confession was anonymous, I would go quite frequently.
Maybe my issue is lack of trust rather than needing a place to confess, because I do have brothers and sisters in Christ I can go to with some things, but I do not feel comfortable sharing everything.
At times I have even thought about going to a Catholic church for confession and telling the priest that I am a Protestant and just need to unburden my soul and receive prayer.
However, I think the deeper need is the need to confess. I do not want to give someone a laundry list of my sins so that I can go out and keep sinning, but I want to confess in a way that is like the Catechism says: “Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible” which is another way to say what James says: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
In the Catholic church one goes to “confession.” In essence you go sit in a little booth, confess your sins to the priest, and he dispenses penance if necessary, then absolves you of your sins.
In the Protestant church one is admonished to confess one’s sins to God and if necessary share your “struggles” with a brother or sister in Christ, or your pastor for prayer and support.
These are two very different approaches.
The idea of confession comes from James 5:16: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
Confessing one’s sins is a very hard, personal thing. It is an admittance that one has failed in keeping God’s law. But, I think it does much more. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church # 1455:
“The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.”
I have heard many times throughout my life that someone who has a problem cannot deal with it until that person admits that there is a problem. What strength could one gain if one had the ability to go to someone, confess one’s sins, struggles and concerns and get prayer and support.
I have had people in my life that I have felt comfortable sharing some things with, but not everything. I have been around too many well-meaning Christians who share something that was told them in confidence because “this person needs prayer.” Then it gets around, and finally the person is very hurt (and in some cases leaves the church) because something they thought they were sharing in confidence was not kept in confidence.
Because of this, the past few years I have been considering the idea of how the Catholics handle confession. One goes to a booth anonymously confesses to a priest who has sworn a solemn vow of secrecy, and receives absolution.
While I do believe that only God can forgive sins, I am wondering if there is not some value in this. I know that if I had someplace to go confess, get prayer and know that 1) my confession was secret, and 2) my confession was anonymous, I would go quite frequently.
Maybe my issue is lack of trust rather than needing a place to confess, because I do have brothers and sisters in Christ I can go to with some things, but I do not feel comfortable sharing everything.
At times I have even thought about going to a Catholic church for confession and telling the priest that I am a Protestant and just need to unburden my soul and receive prayer.
However, I think the deeper need is the need to confess. I do not want to give someone a laundry list of my sins so that I can go out and keep sinning, but I want to confess in a way that is like the Catechism says: “Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible” which is another way to say what James says: “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.”
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