day no. 13,238: only the fool says in his heart that there actually is a God

"In our world it's cool to search for God, but uncool to find Him." ~ Ray Ortlund, Jr.

And even worse to have been found by Him I might add.

It is cool to be religious and seeking a higher, better way.  It's admirable to be a good citizen full of character. It is good to seek good. You will do well to do well and to seek the wellness of all.

But dare not denote the Source of good and submit.

Forbid you find the Finder.

There is nothing less cool than worshipping a God Who commands your respect and awe.

It is cool, however, to be the kind of person who wishes that there was a God.

"Only the fool says in his heart that there actually is a God," says the world.

day no. 13,237: jude's doxology‏

Jude 1:24-25

24 Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time,now and forever. Amen.

These words of comfort and worship have few, if any, rival in all of Scripture.

He is able to protect you from stumbling.

He is able to make you stand in the presence of His glory.

He is able to make you blameless.

He is able to make you have great joy.

He is the ONLY God.

He is our Savior.

He is our Lord, Jesus Christ.

From before time began up until right at this moment and again going ahead until forever, He deserves and possesses in Himself all glory, majesty, power, and authority.

Let us worship.

day no. 13,234: banner

3 John 1:4

I have no greater joy than this: to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

This is sort of a banner verse in my life.

One I quickly latch on to in thinking about the little flock in my home.

Nothing makes me happier than hearing my children honor Jesus from their heart with their lips and lives.

day no. 13,233: commanding love and loving commands

2 John 1:6

And this is love: that we walk according to His commands. This is the command as you have heard it from the beginning: you must walk in love.

Love is walking according to Jesus' commands.

Jesus' command is that you walk in love.

Love = Command

The command of God has always been to love.

Love God.

Love People.

This is the Law of God.

Love.

day no. 13,232: fighting the good fight

I can't remember if I ever posted this or not and when I tried to search I could not find it, so I apologize if you are seeing this again, but in all honesty, I was pretty psyched to be seeing this again even though it is a little dated at this point.

Finneas is matter-of-fact, even when he's killing things apparently.

May he, like his namesake (Phinehas), grow up to be the God-honoring combination of zealous AND discerning, capable of action and able to hit pause when necessary.

To both pounce and to ponder when pertinent that is my prayer (to put it poetically and perhaps pretentiously. don't poo poo, it's just pee pee after pee pee)

Numbers 25:11

“Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by being as zealous among them as I was. So I stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my zealous anger."

&

Joshua 22:30-33

30 When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of Israel—heard this from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, they were satisfied. 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, replied to them, “Today we know the Lord is among us because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord as we thought. Instead, you have rescued Israel from being destroyed by the hand of the Lord.”

32 Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the other leaders left the tribes of Reuben and Gad in Gilead and returned to the land of Canaan to tell the Israelites what had happened. 33 And all the Israelites were satisfied and praised God and spoke no more of war against Reuben and Gad.

day no. 13,231: memorizing Scripture

1. memorizing Scripture makes meditation possible at times when you cannot read your Bible and meditation is the gateway to deeper understanding

2. memorizing Scripture strengthens your faith and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God

3. memorizing Scripture shapes the way you view the world by conforming your mind to God's viewpoint

4. memorizing Scripture makes God's Word more readily accessible in overcoming temptation to sin

5. memorizing Scripture guards your mind in making it easier to detect error in a world filled with error by the god of this world, who puts the "I" in liar.

6. memorizing Scripture allows you to punch the Devil in the face in protecting you, your family and your church

7. memorizing Scripture provides the strongest and sweetest for ministering to others in need

8. memorizing Scripture provides the matrix for fellowship with Jesus because He talks to you through His Word

day no. 13,230: this is the victory!

1 John 5:3-4

³ For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden, ⁴ because whatever has been born of God conquers the world. This is the victory that has conquered the world: our faith. 

Our faith in Jesus Christ has freed us from the power of the world that previously bound us.

We are set free from the slavish tyranny of self to do the will of God.

This is victory over the world: living in it without being of it.