Tracks In The Snow

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 

We had a visitor at our house early this morning. By early, I mean about 1:30 AM. A noise woke Pam and I from a sound sleep. It was not just a single bump. Rather, it was a prolonged series of bumps and thumps coming from outside of the down stairs area of our house. Not to be confused with the clatter of reindeer hooves on the rooftop. I jumped out of bed, looked out the window to see what I could see. There were tracks in the snow leading up to where the noise had come from. After carefully and thoroughly checking on the safety of the house, we went back to sleep. Or rather, tried to go back to sleep. When I checked the tracks this morning, I found that they were definitely not deer tracks as we first thought at 1:30 AM.

Our visitor and the tracks left in the snow brought to mind 1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Satan is constantly on the prowl. Ever on the look out for someone to ensnare in his little plots. Hoping to grab onto one more soul in a weakened state.  Looking for the injured, the tired or exhausted to devour just like the lion on the hunt for the slow antelope. Each of us is clearly in Satan's sight. We are his most desired prey. He would like nothing better than to steal us away and devour us. But, thank God for Jesus Christ, who with His death and resurrection rescued us from the death in sin. He bore the pain and suffering of the cross that we could not and pulled us from the jaws of the roaring lion. But many in our world do not know they have been pulled free from those jaws. Many have not heard, or do not believe they have been set free. Sadly, there are too many in that category. Lambs waiting to be caught in the jaws of the lion. Today, you and I can make a difference. We are approaching the season of Advent. A season of new hope. Take the time to reach out to someone you know that is in danger of being devoured by the roaring lion. Invite them to join you in worship at an Advent service. Reach out in love. If you do not, then who will?

PRAYER: Father, the roaring lion in constantly looking for the next victim to devour. Satan desperately wishes to win the battle that was lost on the cross. Your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ won the day and has pulled us from the jaws of the lion. Help us Dear Lord to stay strong in our faith. Guide us to those who do not know of the victory over sin that Christ has won for us. This we ask in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One God now and forever, Amen.

Your One Question For Jesus

Matthew 22:36-38 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied:" 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment.

The government is in a shut down mode. The debt ceiling needs to be raised or the USA will default on it's debt. Global economic chaos is in the offing. We stand in the midst of this self created grave situation and wonder where is God in all this?

Jesus has an interesting dialogue going with the Sadducees and Pharisees in Matthew 22. Each time one group tries to trip Jesus up with a question, His answers leave them stunned.  Try as they might to test The Lord, they come up short each and every time. their attempts to catch Jesus in a snare of human logic are so pitiful in comparison to the knowledge of The Lord. Which brings me to ask a question of myself and for you to ask yourself. What question would I ask Jesus if I had the opportunity to ask Him face to face?

The possible questions to ask are limitless when you stop to think about it. They could range from "Why did You wither the fig tree? all the way to "Did you ever have second thoughts about who you called to be disciples?" Really, there are a ton of possible questions to ask. Then seriously, what would you or I ask that we cannot already glean from Scriptures? We know what are His directions for us. We are told to love God with all our heart, our mind and our strength. We are told to love one another as we love ourselves. In John 13:34 He tells us to "Love one another. as I have loved you, so you must love one another." This kind of love is a love that transcends mortal love, it is a complete and everlasting love. And finally we are commissioned to go and make disciples of all nations and baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  If we are worried about making it to heaven we already know it is by grace we are saved, through faith (Ephesians 2:8). I guess all the big questions have answers we can read for ourselves. So what ever we ask is going to seem pretty trivial in nature. So, spending a lot of time pondering this is not really time well spent.

But still, knowing the answers to the big questions have been given I still a have one to ask. Maybe you guessed it giving my love for the water. "Jesus, what was it like to walk on water?" It may be a stupid question to ask, but when the important ones have answers already out there, that is what you get from this simple minded person. Be glad that we already have His thoughts and words in Scriptures to guide us when we have questions. May your time reading the Word of God be blessed.

PRAYER: Father of all creation, You have given us Your Word to guide us, comfort us, and sustain us. We have this Word in times of plenty and times of little. We have comfort when we seek comfort. And when we doubt You are near, we have only to look at what You have given us in scripture to find You are next to us always. Thank you for loving us when we do not deserve Your love. And thank You for Your Son Jesus Christ for it is in His name that we offer this prayer, Amen.

Discerned Only Through The Spirit

1 Corinthians 2:14 The person without the Spirit does not accent the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. When I look at the photo above and try to discern the path to the open water I am somewhat confused. Between the reflection of the sky upon the water, and a slight glare in facing the rising add up. Oh and one last thing, I am not familiar with the location. But I have to admit, from the beauty of the location in the picture, I really wish I was familiar with that place. The first snow of the year really has me yearning for warmer climates! Have your ever considered how at times in you life the words of the Bible just do not carry the same weight in your heart as at other times? By this I mean at times when we read a passage we can be moved by the beauty of the words, or the words may bring a deep emotional response because of their reflection on a particle point in our lives. It's almost as if God were looking over our shoulder and pointed us to a specific verse that was dead-on perfect for where we are at that time in our lives. Often we discount the work of the Spirit in our lives and in our faith. The Holy Spirit, a full part of the Triune God, brings to faith needed to the table. The Spirit that filled the lives and souls at Pentecost (see Acts 2) is fully resident within us. When we just go through the motions of reading, studying or praying we get what we offer. We miss so very much of what the Lord would have us see and learn. Yet when we fully let the Spirit drive and focus on our studies, reading or prayer there is an infinitesimal message waiting for us to grasp it. The 1 Corinthians 2:14 passage applies not just to the unbelievers, it also applies to you and I. When we shut out the Spirit, we are lessened in our ability to grasp and comprehend. The person without the Spirit does not accent the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.  The possibilities are limitless when we put the Spirit in charge and set aside ourselves. Friends of the Risen Savior, take the time to place the world on hold, earnestly pray, focus, and let the Spirit fill your lives. PRAYER: Father we ofttimes will place the world ahead of you in our lives and worship. We try to carve out time to be with you in heart and soul. And that time is just so inadequate. The demands of our lives call us to minimize what should really be maximized. Our excuse is that we have little time, but promise to make it quality time. Forgive us Lord. And help us to see the truth that we avoid. Fill us with Your Spirit and help us to overcome what the world would have us seek. We ask this in the name of Your Son who is our Savior Jesus Christ, Amen.