Isaiah 2

 I love the stories of Narnia, Middle-Earth, and even histories of great battles. However, I am also aware that in those stories death and destruction are everywhere. The triumphs are great but so then are the cost. I could go on but those who understand and have seen war may be offended by my feeble attempts to describe it and those who have never imagined it will be sickened by the images. Yes, the stories can be great but the realities are horrible. Which brings me to this text. I long for the day when we can study war, no more. 

Isaiah 1

 Imagine if you will, a wife coming home from work on her anniversary to see a known prostitute sneaking out of her bedroom window. When she gets home her husband yells from the bedroom for her to wait at the front door. A couple of minutes later he walks out with some flowers and a smile. He praises her beauty, hands her the flowers, and says has bought her that new bedroom outfit she's been wanting for this special day. Is she going to be happy with the new furniture, if the money he used to buy it was supposed to go to help her sick mother? Is she going to be happy with the flowers and the smile? Especially when this is the twentieth time she has caught her husband cheating? I think not.

The people of Israel were doing all the things God commanded them, well as far as worship in the temple was concerned. They were worshipping other gods and treating fellow Israelites wrongly. They stole from the poor and ignored the cries of the needy, but they were in church on Sunday (the modern-day equivalent that is). It is no wonder God was disgusted. 

What does this have to do with us today? I have to think that some really beautiful church services are happening around the world today that say they are serving God but are actually making Him sick. My prayer is that I'm not a part of them or do things that would make Him so.  

Luke 1

 There is a lot to see and notice in this chapter. The thing that I noticed again and reminisced about was the fact that Gabriel was angry at Zechariah. Other Biblical characters doubted. Others didn't just doubt an angel but argued against God, the most obvious example is Moses. So what was it that set Zechariah up to be made mute? We could try and guess but that is all they would be guesses. What I do notice is that this imposed silence and then miraculous recovery caught the attention of those around making it very clear that John wasn't just a child born to older parents but a child born with a purpose from God. Thinking about it that way means that God can take our doubts and disobedience and turn them into His glory. Therefore it isn't just the actions of others God can turn to good(Romans 8:28), but even our own missteps if we turn back to God. 

Psalm 1

 The Psalm doesn't just stay to stay away from sin/evil but it also says to delight in the law of the Lord and to be productive. This may sound like a no-brainer but in fact, it isn't. Too often people get caught up in the things they shouldn't do, and they forget to fill their lives with the good things they should be doing. It has been said that nature abhors a vacuum and it isn't just true in nature but in our lives. If all we are doing is avoiding we produce a vacuum in our heart and something will it. If we aren't careful the very things we are trying to keep out of our lives come back in.

To put it another way, it isn't just not going down the wrong way (verse 1) but going down the right path. 

Genesis 2

Can something be both good and bad? Well Yes and No. Gasoline keeps cars moving but if we drink it it will stop us from moving. Gravity is good but if you fall off a building the stop at the bottom might if you survive make you question that fact. This brings me back to Genesis chapter 2. Here God made a garden and called it good but in the midst of it was a tree that God told the man not to eat of. Is the tree bad? Clearly not, as God had previously called all he had made good. So what is it about this tree? The tree wasn't bad it was the misuse of the tree that was bad. It was good when it stood as a reminder that man chose God over himself. It was good but not for food, even if Eve thought it was during the temptation. 

I am reminded today that there are things that are good, but aren't good when they are used in a wrong way. There are things in my life that I have to guard against using in the wrong way. I am tempted like Eve to use it in a way that isn't right. Some of those things I need to avoid entirely others I need to keep for the purpose they are intended. God isn't tempting me, it's my selfish desires that get me into trouble. 

The good news is God is here to help me and so with his help, I can resist the temptations. 

Genesis 1

As I begin this new year and this new or returned journey through the Bible, I notice again that in Genesis chapter one God says that everything is good. The sky, the land, the night, the day, sea creatures and land creatures, even men and women. Did you notice that list? Sky/land, day/night, men/women. In the chapter somethings which we call opposites, God calls good. God is into, yes he created diversity. In the beginning, God created a world of diversity. God called it good.

Later, man will rebel and create a twisted form of diversity. A difference is that God will call sin, but many of the things in our world that may seem opposite are actually good. For example, we call darkness bad. However, God didn't. I could go into the reasons people both educated and not believe that man called darkness bad, but for my observation, God didn't.  Yes, God is against darkness but it isn't the darkness he created, it's the darkness we create. How do we create darkness? In our souls or in the minds of people in a place where there should be light. 

I could go on instead I'm going to summarize and remind myself and those who read, that just because things are different doesn't necessarily make them bad. However, just because they are different doesn't make them good either if God didn't want it that way. Today, I begin by trying to put light, the light of God's Word, and the light of His love into my heart and mind to dispel the darkness God never wanted there.

New Year and Reflection

 

OR NOT!

This week I'm out on vacation. I like to take this time and reflect on the past year and on what is coming in the year ahead. It's an idea I took from author John Maxwell. I doubt I do it as well as he does and I will admit there are times it has been anything but a time of reflection, but that is the plan. I have found if you don't at least try to plan then nothing happens and I want things to happen. 

So what am I saying? Not much today except find time to reflect on your past. Look at the good and the bad. Don't focus on just one or the other but try and be honest, then ask God to help you in the future.

Have a great new year.

CS Areson

PS No, I didn't write this blog this week I did it early so I could be off.