Monday the 30th

1 John 7-8

⁷He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. ⁸He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

 

The voice calling out form the wilderness……. Most of the “enlightened” and “educated” people did not know how to take John. He did not testify for profit, or for personal gain, or notoriety. To look at him…..well to say he was less than worldly would be an understatement. John had one driving, unyielding purpose, to tell the world about the light coming into the world. Today each one of us are the “Johns’” of our day. We too have a very specific purpose, we are to be witnesses to the light and the life of Jesus Christ. Much like John, you will meet with resistance, you will meet many who would rather not believe, than to put the work in to change their lives. As Chesterton said “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” As John lived his life telling the world what was to come, living a simple life, surviving off what God provided him; we too should strive to live that life in the modern world. Let our lives be the example that shows those around us that while changing our lives might be difficult, it can be done. Let people look at our lives to see the blessings that come from putting in the work. As we draw closer to the time of the remembrance of the birth of Christ, let us remember the dedication of John, let our lives and our words testify to the greatness of God, the compassion of Christ, and the Love that pours out from the Trinity upon us everyday. Let our voices be the new voices calling out, reminding the world of the Savior, the sacrifice, and the world to come.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Wed the 25th

Psalm 118: 1

 

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

 

550 BC (for the sake of argument) is when this Psalm was written. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good…… Fast forward  to 1621 in a little colony in what is now Massachusetts, we again see people gathering together to give thanks. Who were they giving thanks to? Did they throw the celebration as thanks to the Indians for not killing them? Was it done to show the people back in England and Holland how successful they were in the new colony? Maybe they did it as a way to share recipes and showcase the latest trends in fine colony dining……. No of course not. The remaining Pilgrims gathered together to give thanks to God! They gathered together as a group to lift their hearts and voices in prayer, song and joyful thanks for the blessings God had poured out upon them. Moving even further ahead to tomorrow, who will we give thanks to? Each other? What will our cause of celebration be? Our football team won? We don’t have to go to the office?  Tomorrow as the turkey cooks in the oven, the pies cool on the counter, and the houses are filled with family, and friends, let us all remember to give thanks to God, not for the simple things in our lives, but for the important ones. Our family, our friends, the bountiful meal that will be enjoyed, the time that we have set aside to revel in the blessings that the Lord has given…..Tomorrow let us lift our voices in prayer, song, and joyful thanks; just as the pilgrims did a couple hundred years ago, just like the Psalmist did a couple of thousand years ago. For what was true then is still very true now. Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever!

 

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, be blessed, and thank God,

 

Brian

Tuesday the 24th

John 1: 4-5

⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

 

“Understood it”, the Bishops’ Bible from 1568 and the King James both read that “the darkness comprehended it not”, the ESV reads that “the darkness has not overcome it.” You really can’t have one without the other can you? You will never overcome something if you do not understand it. This Light has never been understood by the darkness. I believe that the darkness will never understand. The birth of Christ was the beginning of the end for the darkness, the resurrection of Christ was the death blow (pun fully intended). Yet the darkness does not understand that it has been defeated. Christ won, he was the one time sacrifice that cleansed the world of sin, and in doing so gave each of us the offer of salvation. Therein lies the catch, and the reason why the darkness is still around. We were offered the gift, it is up to each of us to grasp it. The darkness is hoping that you don’t. Before we let the light into our lives we are all very much in the dark, and controlled by the darkness. We were living for one thing, and one thing only…..ourselves. It is only when we reach out into the light of Christ, and pull ourselves out of the darkness that we can see the beauty that surrounds us. The light continues to grow as long as we continue to look for those hands reaching out from the darkness, and pulling them into the light. Christ is the light of the world, yet that light can only reach as far as we are willing to take it. Around the globe, to the other end of town, maybe just into a neighbors house; wherever you go, carry the light of Christ with you. The darkness might understand you, but it will never defeat the light of Christ, it cannot defeat it, because it does not understand it. Let us all give thanks to God this week for sending the light to the world.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Monday the 23rd

John 1: 3

³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

 

From the beginning, to the end, and all points in between, Christ has been there. He was a part of it all, and that means that He took part in your creation as well! Take a look around at all that HE and His Father created. The perfection in each flower, the majesty the mountain ranges, the great expanse of our sky and universe. Think of all of that perfection, appreciate the intricate uniqueness in each and every thing, then look at yourself. You are just as perfect as that flower, your potential is just as limitless as that universe. As we approach Thanksgiving let us give thanks to the Lord, for our lives, for our blessings, but let us not forget to give thanks to our unique place in this world. We were created in their image. The One who made all things made us with every ounce of painstaking work that they put in to everything else, and then went a step further, and gave us his image, He gave us a piece of the spark, a sliver of the light, we were given a soul; a soul that will give us eternal life if we so choose. Let us give thanks to the Lord this week and everyday after for giving us some of His perfection, let us show that thanks by making our lives examples of His love. Let us give thanks for His love, because through Him we are closer to perfection everyday. Let us thank Him, let us praise Him, let us love Him.

 

Peace,

Brian

 

 

Friday the 20th

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

 

Today is my birthday, I turned 25……..ok well add 14 more and that might be right!  As the week has gone on I have had one thing on my mind. Peace. I went a long way through my life with no peace, I did not even know I was missing it! I have read, and studied, and read some more, it took many years to find it, but what I have learned is right after you let Christ in, you have to work on peace next, peace in your life, peace in your relationships, peace with yourself, in short you need the peace of God, and it is up to you to let that in. Without peace the world is still too loud, and that noise drowns out the voice of the Lord. That noise causes confusion, and the confusion leads to panic, and uncertainty. These verses are favorites of mine concerning peace of God. Paul makes it very clear where to look, and how to find peace……. On a bended knee. It is in prayer that we can quiet the noise of the world, it is in prayer that we give the Holy Spirit the room to search our souls. It is in prayer that we will find the Peace of God. Once you find it, once you let it in, the world will fall away. You will see that nothing is impossible with Christ at your side. When God is guarding your heart and mind, with Christ at your side, and peace in your heart you will be unstoppable! Be anxious for nothing, let the peace of God fill your life, and guide your steps.

 

God bless, and have a great weekend,

Brian

 

 

 

Thursday the 19th

3 John: 5

 

 ⁵Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, even though they are strangers to you.

 

As I was reading this letter this morning this verse really stuck with me. Paul points out to Gaius that he is faithful for what he is doing ( going out to spread the truth of Christ) even though those people are strangers to him. How powerful this one line is. Preaching to those you know, witnessing to those of a like mind is easy, but going out and carrying the word (in word and deed) to those you do not know really gives us the opportunity to show our faith. How often do we bend over backwards for those that we know, yet brush aside the people that we do not? Have you ever noticed how simple it is to convey compassion to those that are close to us, yet our hearts so easily turn cold when we see strangers in the exact same situation? This is really the meat of this letter (and to warn of Diotrephes party). Paul is encouraging Gaius to continue on, fight the good fight and spread the word. Why would Gaius need encouragement? Because Paul knew all to well just how hard that it can be to try and bring light to darkness. So let us each continue to encourage each other, let us remind each other that the great commission is for all of us, and while it might take you around the globe, or just down the street, we must remain faithful. We must continue to spread the truth of Christ in word and deed, when it is easy, but especially when it is difficult. When we are challenged, when we find it difficult, those are the times that we are most closely watched by others. Those are the times that in our weakness we allow God to break through and show His strength. Let us continue to pray for and encourage each other, for the strangers that watch are our brothers and sisters as well!

 

Peace be with you,

Brian

Wed the 18th

2 John: 8

 

⁸Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.

 

In our daily life we work very hard to keep what we have. When we talk about selling something, or giving something away, or even mention the prospect of letting something go, the typical response is “I worked too hard to just give that away”. Do we guard our salvation as closely? If someone was to ask you to name something so precious to you that you could not imagine giving it up, would your relationship with Christ be first on the list? It might be a knee jerk reaction to say, well my spouse….or my kids…..maybe for some it is the security they find in a bank account or some other asset…..we must remember that all things flow from the vine. Without Christ in our life we will never be fully rewarded, all of the relationships in our life will never reach their full potential, and all of our tangible things that we care so much for……well they were never going to last anyway. Hold on tightly to your salvation, cleave to Christ; there you will find your full reward, you will find that when the Lord is the one thing that you cannot imagine setting aside, your life is brighter, your peace is deeper, your relationships are fuller, in short when you take care of the one most important thing in your life, everything else falls exactly where it is supposed to be. Allow yourself to be fully rewarded here, and in the next life. Do not let all of your hard work slip through your fingers because you have set the important to the side so that you might chase the meaningless.

 

Peace,

Brian